Thunderstorms
by LaughLoveLive2.0
Summary: What happens when you fall in love with your best friend? Raven and Chelsea are about to find out. Raven/Chelsea. Chrave femslash.
1. Damn Thunderstorms

**DISCLAIMER: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Warren-Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**New Author's Note: This story is my baby. It was the first story I ever wrote. I never intended to write anything beyond this but I was so inspired by the reviews and PM's from everyone that I continued. This story that you are about to read is the first in a network of stories that will eventually link together three Disney Channel series'; That's So Raven, Suite Life of Zack and Cody (On Deck does not exist in my universe) and Hannah Montana.**

**I know I put this in my profile page, but in case you missed it:**

**For the three connected series - Thunderstorm, Requited and Both Worlds - here is the order in which I recommend you read them:**

Thunderstorms, The L Word, For Them The Bells Toll, Requited, The Best of Both Worlds, The Search For Tomorrow, Back to the Future and finally Love Conquers All.

**You want to read it in that order because the first three Thunderstorm stories take you from the beginning of Raven and Chelsea's relationship up to the day they get married and then has a chapter at the end of For Them The Bells Toll that moves them ahead to The Best of Both Worlds storyline. But before you go there, Requited, the Londie story, takes you through London and Maddie's budding relationship. Near the end of that story, London, Maddie, Raven, Chelsea and Miley meet up and helps set the stage for the beginning of The Best of Both Worlds. Then the Londie sequel (Search for Tomorrow) along with the Liley sequel (Back to the Future), have an interwoven subplot to their main stories that eventually leads to the final Thunderstorm fic, Love Conquers All.**

**Now that you have the road map, time to take the first step. Welcome to the world of LaughLoveLive. Welcome to the Disney Diva Nation.**

**Original Author's Note: Hey everyone! This is my first entry in the world of fan fiction. The wonderfully talented authors of TSR femslash have inspired me through their vivid imagery and emotion to write this. Please let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy!**

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**Thunderstorms**

_**Chapter 1**_

**Damn Thunderstorms**

**Saturday, February 18, 2006 – Raven and Chelsea's dorm – University of California at Berkeley**

**Raven's POV**

There's a thunderstorm outside. Great. Another Saturday shot.

Thunderstorms. They're raw… unpredictable… dangerous… scary… sometimes deadly. They're also … awe inspiring… powerful… breathtaking. The lightning generated inside them can up the whole sky in a flash.

The first couple of drops warn you. Drop. Hey! Drop, drop. Look! Drop, drop, DROP. The storm is coming! DROP, DROP, DROP, DROP. Are you ready! Then without warning, the sky opens up. The breathless exhilaration you feel as you run for cover, the rain pounding down on you harder with every step. The helpless feeling you have as you witness nature's rage. The anticipation you feel knowing that when the clouds break, the rainbow appears. Unrestrained joy washes over you as the bright colors are instantly converted into a feeling of delight in your heart.

Thunderstorms and love. Who knew they had so much in common. SNAP THE HELL OUT OF IT, RAE!

Damn thunderstorms. Knockin' out all the power in the dorm. No TV, no stereo. I-Pod's dead. Can't charge it. Now I have sit here and listen to my mind wander.

Why do I have to feel like this? Why did I have to fall in love…with HER of all people?

She is my best friend. I've known her all my life. Recitals, sleepovers, dates, breakups, more trouble than you can shake a stick at. We've laughed together, cried together, raged against the world together and promised we'd always be there for each other. I love her. I'm not supposed to be IN love with her.

She puts her heart into everything that she does. That's one of the things I love about her. It also makes me worry. This is our second semester in college and she's already auditioned for a musical and two plays, while carrying 15 credits and maintaining a relationship. It stresses her out, big time. I tell her to slow down all the time but she has this insatiable need to keep going.

She had it going good for a while – classes were going well, rehearsals for the auditions were going off without a hitch, the boyfriend was sweet and understanding of her busy schedule. And then last night, it caught up to her… and knocked her on her butt. Sometimes you see it, sometimes you don't. I didn't see it before. Last night, I saw it. I had no idea this was coming. I needed a vision about last night. Last night something caught up to me and knocked me on my butt too.

Last night, I fell in love with Chelsea Daniels.

**Flashback to Friday Night**

A light sprinkle of rain had just started outside late last night. I decided to take it easy and crash; no school, no work, no date, just me, my TV, pizza and a pillow. I figured Chels would be out for a while, engaged in a much needed night of blowing off steam.

I was well into my third round of dozing off when the door slammed, shaking everything in sight. I jumped up off the bed screaming. "I knew it! That was it! The big one! Nine point five on the Richter scale! Ev'rybody gon' die!"

Then I saw her. She came into the room as pissed off as I've ever seen her. For Chelsea, it was like in movie "The Ten Commandments" when the plagues hit Egypt back-to-back.

Wednesday: The molecular bio test that she stayed up every night till 3 in the morning to study for… **D-minus**

_(Drop, drop)_

Thursday: The female lead in the theatre department's production of _The Distance From Here_, a character that she lived and breathed for two weeks straight to get it right… **didn't get it**

_(Drop, drop, DROP, DROP)_

Friday: The boyfriend was smart and funny and good-looking and thought it was cool that she was so involved on campus… **caught cheating. Yeah, gettin' busy. He "forgot" about their date. He said something about her not having enough time for him and deciding to find someone who would. Asshole.**

_**(DOWNPOUR)**_

Books, umbrella, shoes, clothes and F-bombs were flying everywhere. Thunderstorm. Raw… Unpredictable… Dangerous… Scary. Five full minutes of pure venting. Nature's rage. Every hurt, every slight, every painful emotion that had welled up inside her - every bad grade, every missed date, every flubbed line, locked away because she had no time to deal with them… came exploding out of her at one time. She couldn't stop herself if she wanted to. It was coming out. Mount Chelsea just blew. And I was at the foot of the mountain, witnessing the eruption. Saddam Hussein? Child, please! Right now, Chelsea was a Weapon of Mass Destruction.

When she was done, she did the only thing she had the energy left to do. It started with a single tear. I held her as she cried. I knew if I said anything it would make it worse, so I just let her cry.

Normally, this would do the trick. A few minutes of water works would be enough and it was ice cream and 1950's romantic comedies all night. But this was deeper. This was anguish. There was something else there. Something at the core of her being that was coming out through her tears. I closed my eyes as my tears fell, wishing I could stop the pain. I wished that she could crawl inside my soul and be safe. Whatever it was, I wanted to make it go away. I felt the full range of emotions – hurt, anger, suffering, despair, helplessness. I felt everything she was feeling. At that moment, more than any other in all of our years of friendship, our hearts were one.

And then I felt something else. It started in the pit of my stomach, lingered in my heart, went to the top of my head and came all the way back down, making a serious pit stop just south of the waistband of Victoria's Secret.

Cory has this football DVD called _"Playmakers"_. One of the characters has a drug addiction that he calls "The Grip" – a pull so strong that no matter what you do, you have to get a fix. That's what I felt.

I felt an overwhelming, all-consuming urge to comfort her with more than a girlfriend-type hug. The stronger the pull, the tighter I held her, knowing that if I let go, that "grip" would take control. It was like being in the eye of a hurricane. Staying in that spot was safe, but move, and the storm blows you away. So I held on for dear life. What seemed like an eternity lasted for two, maybe three minutes. As the minutes ticked by, the sobs started to subside. "The Grip", as if on cue, followed soon after.

When I thought it was safe, I slowly released my hold on her. After we dried our eyes and gained some semblance of a voice, I asked her if she wanted to talk. She said no, that she just needed to vent. As she turned to go to the bathroom, I dropped my head and took a deep breath – my mind racing with all the emotions that I just experienced. Then she turned around, with another round of tears welling up in her eyes.

"I love you SO much, Rae." With that, she turned on her heels and disappeared into the bathroom.

You can tell when someone says something to you and cuts it off. There was more that she wanted to say, but couldn't. Her heart was too full. Mine was too. One more word and I would have lost it.

What I wouldn't have given at that moment to have one of my visions. When I don't expect them, they pop-up like popcorn. When I need them, they're nowhere to be found. "The Grip" found me though. And it gently pulled on me, until I forced myself to sleep.

**END OF FLASHBACK **

_Another loud thunderclap boomed outside, shaking Raven to her core._

So here I am. What am I gonna do? Chelsea went home early this morning for the weekend. I guess she didn't want to rehash last night with me, which is cool. I couldn't have handled it anyway. She'll be back tomorrow night. I've got less than 24 hours to get my crap together before I have to look her in the eyes again.

Eyes. She does have big, beautiful brown eyes…

Come on, Raven! What would you have done last night, anyway? That IS Biscuithead after all.

But… well… I mean… Biscuithead is fine with a capital F-I-N-E.

Drop dead gorgeous…

Soft silky skin…

Long, thick auburn hair…

And she got body for days…

STOP IT! That damn "Grip" again! I swear, the next time I see Cory, I'm gonna kill him for making me watch that crap! Playmakers. I'll make my foot play when I put it in his…

_Raven paused for a second and sighed._

Forget him. I HAVE GOT TO FOCUS. She'll be back tomorrow. What am I going to do? She said before another large thunderclap sounded outside her window.

Damn thunderstorms.

**PLEASE REVIEW**


	2. Just Listen to the Rain

**DISCLAIMER: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Warren-Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Author's Note: This time we are inside Chelsea's head.**

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**Thunderstorms**

_**Chapter 2**_

**Just Listen to the Rain**

**Saturday, February 18, 2006 – Chelsea's room – Daniels' Residence, San Francisco **

**Chelsea's POV**

I love the rain. It is so soothing. Curling up with a good book, sitting by the window listening to the gentle patter of the rain on everything it touches. You can blank everything and everyone out. Close your eyes, Chelsea. Slip into nothingness, girl. You can do it.

_There was a steady rain falling on the Daniels' house. Small rumbles of thunder were interrupted by violent thunderclaps._

NO! I can't even get 2 minutes of uninterrupted rain! What the hell is going on?

_Chelsea then stared out into the rain, focusing on the single street lamp that was illuminated._

Raven, you are the one person that I can talk to and I can't talk to you because it's about you.

You have been with me for every important moment in my life. You know everything there is to know about me. You make laugh when no one else can. You challenge my mind. You inspire my soul. You touch my heart.

Mom just talked to me the other day about true love. Boy, that was right on time.

**Flashback to Tuesday evening phone conversation**

"_Chelsea, when your true love comes along you will experience every emotion possible, probably at one time. You'll be happy one minute, confused the next. You'll have all the hope in the world for the future today, tomorrow, you wonder if anything will work at all. You'll be excited, nervous, joyous, hopeful, scared. But don't worry. You'll know true love when it comes. Be true to yourself, and it will come back to you."_

"How?"

"_The eyes and the pit of your stomach never lie, Chelsea. Raw emotion starts in the pit of your stomach. It'll feel like the wind got knocked out of you. Like a fire ignited there. It works its way to your heart and it's reflected in your eyes. Your eyes are the windows to your soul. A person has to be very good at suppressing their emotions if you can't read anything in their eyes. Then everything gets warm, true love warms you, wraps around you like a blanket, and keeps you warm and safe."_

"Anything else I need to know about TRUE love, Mom?"

"_Yeah. True love knows no respect of person. Look at your father. I love him to death but he wouldn't have been my first choice. My dream man was 6'2, 220, athletic, blond hair, blue-eyed and… ummm… well… (In a whispered tone) hung like a horse!"_

"Mom!"

"_C'mon Chelsea. Remember I'm not just, "Mom", I am a woman. _ _But seriously, your true love might come in a package that you would least expect. Just be open to different possibilities."_

_Another violent thunderclap snapped Chelsea out of her flashback._

I know Mom was not thinking about THIS possibility. But, she never used the word man when she described true love, just her dream man. Did she know? Was she trying to give me a hint?... Flo, you're paranoid. Shut up, already!

_Chelsea sighed._

Every time I break up with some loser, it brings me closer to you. You sit with me, listen to details of things going down in flames and you always tell me how smart and beautiful I am…how lucky any guy would be to be with me… how stupid they are for not seeing the beauty I possess inside.

At first I wondered, "Why couldn't they say those things to me?" Then I thought, guys have said those things to me. But, they were just words. They were just trying to get in my pants. But when you say those things to me, I look into your eyes and remember my mother's words. You mean every word of it. Your soul is saying those things to me.

That warmth is slowly wrapping around me. What Mom didn't tell me is that when the warm becomes hot, your body takes notice. You've been warming me for months and now, you're starting to get me hot.

It's getting harder to breathe around you.

At first, it was hard to concentrate on homework and running my lines. Then it became hard be around you in the morning when we get dressed for class and at night when we get ready for bed. Then it became hard being around you period because… well… I'm pale and my imagination makes me blush!

I stay in the theatre building because I can't stay in that room with you, because every time I look at you I want to touch my lips to yours. Every time you get near me I can't concentrate because I am too busy feeling the heat that radiates off your body. When you're not looking, I sneak peeks… at everything. Head to toe. Sharing the bathroom is torture. Caramel skin… curves for days… hazel eyes. Every time I hear your voice these days, I want to hear you scream my name!

WHOA, WHOA, WHOA, WHOA WHOA! DOWN GIRL! You're out of batteries. Remember that!

That's why I am not there. I don't know if I am ready for what I might do if I am near you for long periods of time. I don't know if our dorm mates would be ready for what I might do, cause it would probably be loud! (She smiles at that thought)

I have no idea what to say to you. Of course I could say everything that I just said in my head…

But what if I misread her?

She hasn't been acting funny toward me so she hasn't had a vision. OH SHIT! HER VISIONS! What if she knows already? She could have seen something! What if…?

**Flashback to Mom's words**

"_You'll be excited, nervous, joyous, hopeful, scared. But don't worry. You'll know true love when it comes. Be true to yourself, and it will come back to you."_

Ok, Flo. Breathe. Be true to yourself. You can do this. This is Rae, after all. You have said some incredibly stupid things to her and she still loves you. You are her 'Biscuithead'.

_Chelsea walks away from her window and lays down on her bed staring at the ceiling for a moment before closing her eyes._

Just listen to the rain. Just listen to the rain.

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**PLEASE REVIEW. The reviews are keeping me going. Thank you.**


	3. The Eye of the Storm

**DISCLAIMER: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Warren-Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

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**Thunderstorms**

_**Chapter 3**_

**The Eye of the Storm**

It was a dreary, overcast Sunday morning in Berkeley that greeted the drowsy Raven as she began to awaken from her slumber.

Raven rolled over in bed, cracked one eye open and looked at the clock on her cell phone. The power had come back on overnight. The alarm clock flashed "12:00" with unceasing abandon.

"Eleven-oh-seven. Congratulations, you slept for 5 whole hours." Raven said sarcastically. "Time to get up. You've got a long day ahead of you."

Raven then shuffled into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

_BRRRRRING!_ "Crap." She mutters to herself as the phone rang. _ BRRRRRING!_ "OK. OK." Raven admonished the phone as she wiped the toothpaste from her mouth. _BRRRRRING!_ "I'M COMING! DANG!" Raven snapped.

With as much energy as she could muster, which was none after that scream, she picked up the phone.

"He-llo."

"_Well, Good Mornin' to you too, Miss Sunshine. I told you ta stop hittin' the tequila bottle before bed! It ain't mouthwash, girl!"_ The sound of Eddie Thomas' voice perked her up.

"Eddie! What's up, boy?" Raven said with a smile.

It had been eight months since Eddie had gone away to a performing arts school in Philadelphia for music. He periodically called Raven and Chelsea. It was his way of making sure that The Three Amigos kept it together. They hadn't heard from him since New Years' Day.

"_Life is up, girl! I'm in the city of brotherly love and this brother has got plenty of love to spread! The ladies of Phil-ly are goin' sill-y for Big E! Wooo! What's up with you and your shadow?"_

With the faintest hint of a smirk on her face she meekly responded. "I am so glad to hear your voice."

There was relief, anxiety and exhaustion in her voice. Eddie picked up on it immediately.

"_Talk to me, Rae. What's up? And where is Chelsea? It sounds quiet in there."_

She knew that was coming, but still wasn't ready for it. But she didn't have time to mess around with excuses. The phone call was a sign. She needed to talk. Eddie was one of her best friends. And she could tell him just about anything. She was afraid that what she had on her mind would test the limits of that verbal liberty. But at that moment that fear was overridden by the fear of losing Chelsea if she didn't play her cards just right.

"_Here we go, Raven."_ She said to herself. _"It starts right now." _Raven then launched into what was at that point the most important conversation she had ever had.

"Chels isn't here. She went home for the weekend. It's been a rough week for her." Raven said.

"_It sounds like it's been a rough week for you too."_

"It's… ahh… been a … different couple of weeks." She responded. "Eddie… I have something that I need to talk to you about and I need you to really try to understand and not freak out on me, ok?"

"_Ok, Rae. I'm listening. What's up?"_

"Chelsea… has been busy a lot lately and I haven't seen a whole lot of her. Lectures, labs, auditions, dates… she has been on the go and it is wearing her down. I… I really worry about her health and her mind and… and I really miss her."

"_Sure you do, Rae. Y'all have been tight like that since elementary school. She's your best friend. You care about her. You always have. You know how to talk to her – what buttons to push. It'll be ok."_

"There's more to it, Ed."

"_Oh? Like what?"_

"Over the last couple of weeks, things have been changing. That care that I have had for her has changed into something else, something more… special. I am thinking about her all day – wondering if she is all right." Raven said before a short pause. After a second or so, she continued. "Is she eating right? Is she tired? Is her boyfriend taking care of her? Being kind and sweet to her the way that she needs? Making sure that she is taking care of herself... I mean, the few minutes a day I see her lately is tough because all those things flood my mind. She works so hard and is so sweet, I just…"

"_You're falling in love with her."_ Eddie said very matter-of-factly, very soberly.

There was a long, pregnant pause on Raven's end of the phone as Eddie's correct interpretation of her feelings sank in.

"Yeah. I am." She said softly.

The phone went silent. It was moments like this that Raven dreaded. Especially since her psychic gift has suddenly gone AWOL. She had no clue what was coming. No way to brace herself against the inevitable backlash that she knew was coming. Eddie was cool about a lot of stuff, but this, she thought, was enough to break even the strongest of friendship bonds.

Eddie had a lot of things going on in his head.

**Surprise?** Yes. One of his best female friends just admitted that she was in love with his other best female friend.

**Fear?** Yes. Fear of the unknown. How it would affect their relationship. He and Rae. He and Chelsea. Chelsea and Rae. Friends, parents? What would they say?

**Disappointment?** Yes. They were both VERY attractive. In the back of his mind, he always held out a miniscule amount of hope for something more than friendship with one of them.

**Curiosity?** Yes. His imagination was like Hulkamania… runnin' wild!

**Shock?** No. There were times he thought he saw a lingering glance, an awkward touch, a protectiveness that he thought went beyond normal friendship. But he always shrugged it off. Friendships are hard to start and harder to maintain. When you find a friend that is true these days, you stick with them… get closer. He just figured they were in perfect harmony, a perfect compliment to one another.

Now he had visions flowing through his head of wacky and tender moments from the past.. Overflowing popcorn machines, flower covered cars, ridiculous costumes… that kiss…

His girls had grown up. Thankfully, he had done some growing up himself.

"Eddie! Please say something? I'm kind of dying here." Raven pleaded.

"_I'm sorry. That was a heavy load that I wasn't expecting."_

"You ok?" Raven gingerly asked.

"_I should be asking you that question. Then again, I can hear that you're strugglin' with this."_

"Yeah, you could say that."

"_So let me fill in a few blanks. Something happened between you two Friday and she bolted out of there so she didn't have to confront you."_

"That's just it, Eddie. Nothing really happened between us. She was upset over a bunch of stuff and she just flicked off and then she broke down and I held her and we cried, just like we always do."

"_Think Rae. What was different this time?"_

"I felt something different inside but I played it off."

"_What else?"_

"After we stopped crying, I could tell that she wasn't done. She had something else to say. She was going to the bathroom and she just turned around and told me that she loved me.

"_How did she say it?"_

"She said, _**'I love you SO much, Rae.'**_" Raven's recounting of Chelsea's statement was met with silence.

"What?" Raven asked in exasperated fashion. She still got no response from her best male friend. "What, Eddie?"

"_I'm waiting for the light bulb."_

"What are you talking about? I told you she told me she loved me just like she alway…" Raven stopped in mid-thought as realization finally hit her.

"_Ding!"_

"You think that… she felt something too? You think that she has feelings for… No, Ed! Naw, naw, naw, naw!" Raven engaged in a round of self-denial. "I'd have picked up on that! She wears her heart on her sleeve! I would have seen something!"

"_You did say that she's gone a lot."_

"She's busy with all her stuff."

"_Maybe she's busy with all her stuff because she can't be around you. Because she wears her heart on her sleeve and she's not ready for you to see it. Maybe, she doesn't know what to do around you. I was like that with Chantel, remember?"_

"Yeah, but…"

"_When was the last time she looked you in the eye? I mean REALLY looked you in the eye?"_

"I don't know. She's usually an in-and-out-blur lately."

"_What about Friday? When she said how much she loved you?"_

"My eyes were full of tears. I didn't see for sure. I guess she looked at me then. Why?"

"_Somebody told me once that the eyes are the windows to the soul. I bet if you had really paid attention… she was staring straight into your soul when she said that."_

Tears welled up inside Raven seemingly from out of nowhere. Realization had set in at that moment that her emotional blinders didn't allow her to see what was in her best friend's heart.

"Damn." She spit out as she sniffled up tears. "When did you become so insightful?"

"_Chantel made me watch Lifetime a lot. It paid off. Made me into the sensitive and dapper gentleman I am today."_

Raven laughed as she dried up the last few tears. "Are you ok with how I feel? I mean I don't want you to feel…"

"_Look Rae, the heart wants what the heart wants. You know what kind of a-hole I'd be if I tried to stand in the way. I am your friend. I love you and I want to see you happy. If loving Chelsea makes you happy, then I'm cool with it. You're still you. She is still Chelsea. Period."_

"_Now, when are you going to tell her how you feel?"_

"It would be too much to hope she develops psychic abilities and has a vision about it in the next eight hours, huh?"

"_Uh, yeah. Look. Try to relax a little before she gets back. I always get loose by just kirkin' out to some music. Somethin' to get the blood flowin'. Then when she comes back just take a deep breath and start talking."_

"I don't feel like dancing, Eddie!" Raven whined.

"_I know you don't. But if you sit there with your thumb up your butt all bottled up, you'll start thinking, then over thinking and you'll lose your nerve."_

"Ok. I'll try it." She droned back, having no intention of following up on his suggestion.

"_I'll call you tomorrow to see how things went. And you better have a report for me, ya heard?"_

"_It will turn out alright. I can feel it… I'll catch you later."_

"Ok, babe. I holla." Eddie said before hanging up the phone.

Raven was emotionally spent from the conversation. Eddie was actually cool about this. He could be a real knucklehead to her sometimes, but she could always count on good advice from him when it really counted. And it really counts now.

After not eating all day Saturday, Raven suddenly felt a pang of hunger. It was just after 12 and the dining hall just opened for Sunday brunch. She hopped into the shower, got dressed and headed out into the crisp February afternoon.

"Maybe things won't be as bad as I'm making them out be." She thought. "Eddie was right. It will turn out alright." For the first time in two days, she felt like everything was going to be all right. The storm would pass over.

She walked into the dining hall with an appetite and hope for the best. Being in the calm eye of the storm can give you that hope; the hope of knowing that the storm will be gone soon. What she forgot is that in between the eye and the clear waters, the other half of the storm is brewing.

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**That's Chapter 3. What do you think? Please let me know! Thanks!**


	4. Uhoh, Uhoh, Uhoh, I Wanna

**DISCLAIMER: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Warren-Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

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**Thunderstorms**

_**Chapter 4**_

**Uhoh, Uhoh, Uhoh, I Wanna**

"Brunch spaghetti and meatballs." Raven thought as she walked back to her dorm from the dining hall. "Not bad. Not Dad's, but not bad."

As she reached the door of the room she shared with Chelsea, she knew that these moments were among the last moments of her life as she knew it. Things were going to change sooner than later; not just in her head, but on the canvas of her life.

Her key tumbled inside the lock. Just as she stepped over the threshold, she froze. She was being pulled in, and it wasn't "The Grip"… it was a long overdue vision.

**(VISION)**

_**Chelsea (very angrily): "Well, ya know what? I can take care of that problem tomorrow!"**_

_**Raven: "Ch-Chels, what exactly do you mean by that?"**_

_**Chelsea: "I will just march my ass over to Resident Services and request to be moved since living with me is so 'difficult'!"**_

_**Raven: "Chels, that's not what I meant…**_

_**Chelsea: "Save it, Rae! What I really need is to be left alone! Can you please leave me the hell alone? Can you do that?"**_

**(END OF VISION)**

"What the hell was that?" Raven screamed breathlessly.

Raven was now pissed. "Of all the times and of all the things I could have a goddamned vision about and I see that! What the hell…"

Raven started nervously pacing, looking around the room for something – an object that she can take her frustration out on. Then as if she were hit by a wave of calm, she stopped dead in her tracks as she began to rationalize what she just experienced.

"Ok. It's going to happen. You know that." She said before she resumed her pacing. "It was obviously the middle of an argument… a spirited… disagreement. I said something that either came out wrong or she misunderstood." She sat down on the edge of Chelsea's bed. "Either way, she ends up saying she is going to move."

Raven's blood started to boil. No one in particular was the target of this simmering rage. She was fed up with the situation and had enough of the worrying and hand wringing.

Always aware of the fact that she was in a dormitory with 200 other girls, she went to the one place that she knew she could release the pressure inside her head.

The way they constructed the bathrooms in the dorm, you'd have to be standing right outside the door to hear what's going on inside. At that moment, that was an asset.

Raven stalked into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. "Oh, hell, no! Every time one of these visions happens, I go flying off the handle reading it all wrong screwing everything up in the process!" She screamed.

"Not this time! Uh-uh! No, sir! I am sick of that shit! This time, it is what it is! I am not screwing this up and I'm not gonna let her do it either! If that's how it's gonna go down, then I'm gonna be ready. Eddie was right! If I'm gonna do this, I need to be free! Woman, thou art loosed!"

With that, the door flew open. She looked at the clock. 4:30. When Chelsea went home, she normally got back to campus around seven. That gave her time enough to unwind from the 45-minute drive, eat, pick out her clothes for the week and talk till they both fell asleep. She figured since Chelsea might not be in the most talkative mood, she might get back a little later.

Raven made a beeline for her closet. She started rummaging, looking for an outfit she could "kirk-out" in. Nothing stands out. Trips to the mall don't include stops for "kirk-out clothes". Screw it. No clothes. Naked. That's freedom.

"But…" She pauses in her head. "I get to jumping around and the twins could hit me in the face and kill me." She thinks to herself as she innocently rubs her breasts, with a playful frown on her face.

"I got it!... Down to the Vickie's!" She pulls off her baggy university sweats revealing a black lace full figure Glamour by Victoria Secret bra and matching Lace Hip hugger panties. "Even when you look like a bum on top, gotta look sexy underneath!" She proclaimed aloud as she glimpsed herself in the mirror. "Now for the music."

Raven went over to the CD rack looking for a song. But not just a song, THE song that was going to let her let go.

"No. No. No. No…." She said as she thumbed through her CD collection. She then stumbled upon a winner. " Yeah. Yeah. YEAH! That's the one!"

She slid the CD into the player, found her track and took her position "on stage".

Opening Horns of _Crazy In Love _by Beyonce

_Yes! So crazy right now  
Most incredibly  
It's your girl… B  
It's your boy… Young_

_Uh-oh, Uh-oh, Uh-oh, I wanna… Uh-oh, Uh-oh, Uh-oh, I wanna… Uh-oh, Uh-oh, Uh-oh, I wanna… Uh-oh, Uh-oh, Uh-oh, I wanna_

_History in the makin  
Part 2_

_So crazy right now_

_I look and stare so deep in your eyes  
I touch on you more and more every time  
When you leave I'm beggin' you not to go  
Call your name two, three times in a row  
Such a funny thing for me to try to explain  
How I'm feeling and my pride is the one to blame  
Yeah, cause I know I don't understand  
Just how your love can do what no on else can_

She was going to put her all into this performance. This was going to bring the house down. Raven Baxter performing Beyonce's _Crazy In Love_.

_Got me lookin so crazy right now  
Your love's got me lookin so crazy right now  
(Your love)  
Got me lookin so crazy right now your touch's  
Got me lookin so crazy right now  
(Your touch)_

Here comes the part that has made many a man salivate, "the booty pop". Raven had it down cold. _"Forget Beyonce."_ She thought._ "This song is mine today!"_

_Got me hoping you page me right now your kiss's  
Got me hoping you save me right now_

"Here it comes!" She breathlessly exclaimed.

_Lookin so crazy your love's got me lookin  
Got me lookin so crazy your love_

_Uh-oh, Uh-oh, Uh-oh, I wanna…_

That "booty pop" part is ten seconds long. The dorm room door opened three seconds in to it. Raven had her back to the door. She never heard it open.

An hour earlier...

Chelsea threw her overnight bag and groceries on the back seat of her 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid and slid into the driver's seat. Once she pulled out of the driveway, there was no turning back.

She sat there for a moment, looking around her neighborhood. Everywhere she looked, there was a Chelsea-Raven memory.

There was the corner where the ice cream truck always stopped after they chased it for blocks – being so out of breath that all they could say was "Choc… late…" The driver always knew the last word was "cone".

There was the elm tree that they tried and failed to climb for six years. All they wanted to do was sit on that big branch and just chill.

There was the end of the driveway where they first met. Raven's mom was walking her to the bus stop just as Chelsea and her mom were coming out of the house. Chelsea was wearing a goofy grin and Raven was wearing… _"Little designer jeans! Damn!"_ She thought. _"She was a little diva back then, too!"_

Chelsea sighed to her self as she cranked up the car and started on her trip back to school. She didn't receive a phone call from Eddie to steel her resolve.

He had decided not to call Chelsea because she had a funny way of being able to read him. She knew when he wasn't shooting straight. He also figured that since he always called them at the dorm, it would seem a little strange to her that was calling her on her cell phone on a Sunday.

She was still unsure of what to do – what to say. But she knew she had to go back. She had already gotten the third degree from her parents about what was wrong. She told them everything except her Raven problem. If she tried to stick around until morning, her mom might be tempted to do something stupid like call Raven to see what's wrong. She had done that before.

She was tired, both physically and mentally. She was about to head out onto the battlefield for the fight of her life and she was drained. She was tired of running. She had been running from place-to-place, thing-to-thing for two months straight. Enough was enough. With what's-his-name out of the picture and no more auditions on her calendar, she could finally rest her body.

The closer Chelsea got to campus, the more convinced she was that she could live in the same room with the object of her desire for another couple of days, or at least until what she needed to say was going to come out right. Her mother's words were ringing in her ears, "Be true to yourself…"

About 25 minutes away from campus, she turned on the radio. KISS-FM was running a Beyoncé Sunday. Giving away tickets to her concert, CD's and stuff. They started playing everything she ever sang.

Chelsea pulled up to the main gate on campus. As the radio voiceover announced, _"Beyoncé all day! On KISS-FM!" _That was followed by one of Beyoncé's hits.

Horns Blow

_Yes! So crazy right now  
Most incredibly  
It's your girl… B  
It's your boy… Young…_

"Thanks a lot, B!" She said sarcastically to the radio, calling Beyoncé by her nickname. She pulled into the parking lot of her building. "Great timing on this song. Crazy in Love. That'll be in my head all night."

The walk to the dorm from the car is about 50 yards. To Chelsea, it seemed a lot longer today.

She reached the building. It was eerily quiet, even for a Sunday. She hopped in the elevator headed for the 5th floor.

When the elevator doors open, she heard a familiar sound.

"_That was just on the radio a second ago!"_ She thought. _"Damn, that's pretty loud."_ Her thoughts continued. _"Must be Gina again. I swear one day I'm gonna take her woofers and stuff it in her tweeter!"_ Her mind flashed.

As she got closer to Gina's room, she realized that the noise wasn't coming from there, it was further down the hall. As she approached her room, she realized where "B" was singing. It was Room 5134, the room belonging to Chelsea Daniels and Raven Baxter.

She was home. _"But why is the music so loud?"_ Chelsea thought. Raven was always so considerate of other people and made sure her music was kept at a respectable level.

For a split second, she wondered if everything was ok. For another split second she wondered if Raven was alone in the room.

_Lookin so crazy your love's got me lookin  
Got me lookin so crazy your love_

"Screw it. Whatever is on the other side of that door, I can deal." Chelsea decided as she put her key in the lock.

_Uh-oh, Uh-oh, Uh-oh, I wanna…_

_

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**Chapter 4 is now complete! Read, Enjoy and Review! Thank y'all!**


	5. The Tempest

**DISCLAIMER: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Warren-Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Author's note: I broke away from the storm theme when I named the last chapter, because given the theme of the chapter, **_**Uh-oh, Uh-oh, Uh-oh, I wanna **_**seemed appropriate. This one goes back to the storm name, The Tempest. A violent storm. I don't mention storms in this chapter, per se, but you'll get my drift.**

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**Thunderstorms**

_**Chapter 5**_

**The Tempest**

_Crazy In Love_ blaring from Raven's stereo

…_Uh-oh, Uh-oh, Uh-oh, I wanna, Uh-oh, Uh-oh, Uh-oh, I wanna… Uh-oh, Uh-oh, Uh-oh, I wanna…_

(Chelsea's POV)

I never knew that somebody's body temperature could spike that quickly. My body didn't get hot… It was on fire. Everything on me that could sweat did. Forehead… palms… feet and…

"Good god, that's not sweat down there!" My mind exclaimed.

_(2nd Verse)_

_When I talk to my friends so quietly  
(who he think he is?) look at what you did to me  
Tennis shoes don't even need to buy a new dress  
If you ain't there, ain't nobody else to impress  
It's the way that you know what I thought I knew  
It's the beat that my heart skips when I'm with you  
Yeah, but I still don't understand  
Just how your love can do what no one else can_

About 72 different things went through my head at that moment. At least 55 of them traveled through my body.

She had no idea that I was coming home early. She probably thought I'd be home around 7 or 8.

_Got me lookin so crazy right now  
Your love's got me lookin so crazy right now  
(your love)  
Got me lookin so crazy right now your touch  
Got me lookin so crazy right now  
(your touch)  
Got me hoping you'll page me right now your kiss  
Got me hoping you'll save me right now  
Lookin so crazy your love's got me lookin  
Got me lookin so crazy your love_

"Jesus, God in heaven, work it, girl!" My mind is screaming. My heart is beating in my ears. I have never been this turned on in my life.

At this point I am paralyzed. My feet won't move. My senses are on overload. I am backstage, behind the curtain of the sexiest one-woman show in history. I never knew Victoria's Secret could look that good on anybody. Martial law has been declared in my brain. Voyeuristic lust has taken over my gray matter.

"Turn around!" My mind hisses. "I want to see it all!"

"Hell, No!" My rational half shot back. "She turns around and we're fu…"

She did a complete 360. Hands in the air, eyes closed, wrapped up so tightly in the song. My eyes devoured every inch of her lusciously thick 5-foot, 6-inch frame.

I was getting so wet that I could no longer stand still. I could feel my hands trembling, wanting, no, needing to touch myself. It took all the will power I had to resist the urge. "I… can't… take… this…" My mind sputtered.

It was too much. I couldn't breath. I had to get out of there before I started hyperventilating. I eased the door closed without making a sound. Jay-Z was nearing the end of his verse. I was nearing the end of my rope. I took the bags that I had set down just outside the door down to the lounge in the main lobby.

I stepped into the first floor bathroom and looked in the mirror. My face was flushed. My pulse was racing. My mind was doing flips. My body was in full rebellion. Control of my sexual impulses was something that I personally prided myself on. I've seen other girls do some stupid stuff just because somebody made them "feel good" like Halle Berry in Monster's Ball. Not me, I would tell myself. No guy was ever going to get me sprung like that. But that was no guy up there setting this redhead off.

I went into the nearest stall… locked the door… closed my eyes… slowly licked my fingers sliding them inside the now-unbuttoned waist of my jeans…I can still see her dancing… I can still hear the music… _Got me lookin so crazy right now, Your love's got me lookin so crazy right now…_

Raven finished her "set" in a blaze of glory. She grabbed a towel and sat down at her desk/vanity to cool off. She brought the house down. Her audience loved it. But she didn't want applause, curtain calls or roses. She got what she wanted – to let go of her anxiety… with an added bonus.

(Raven's POV)

A college dorm room is, if you're lucky, 15 x 15. Two desks, two dressers, two closets. We were lucky that in the new female dorms they built, each room has a bathroom. Not much space. Funny thing about small spaces is that you can feel a person's presence in the air. A subtle shift in the air, imperceptible in a larger space, is amplified in a smaller area.

Yeah, she was standing there.

I never looked around because I didn't have to. Sometimes people can startle you if they walk up on you unannounced. She has never done that to me. I can feel her presence, anywhere. It sounds hokey, but it's true.

Sometimes, Chelsea had to be coaxed, convinced, cajoled… ok, sometimes dragged kicking and screaming into things. She is cautious by nature. Fine. You have to know what it is you are dealing with.

I didn't know she was coming back early. I didn't plan to have her see my "tension release". But when I felt her standing there I made sure that cranked it up a notch. I know what assets I have and I put them on display. I figured it like this, she would either make a smart aleck, ice-breaking wisecrack or she would be should I say 'interested' by what she saw.

I can be really devilish when I want to be. And I want to be. I want her heart.

Chelsea walked out of the first floor bathroom beside herself. She was angry because there was an opportunity there that she didn't take advantage of. If ever there was a conversation starter, that episode was it. No beating around the bush. She could have gotten right to the heart of the matter, put all of her cards on the table and hope that she had the winning hand. But she didn't do it. Not because she was scared but because at the time she needed to let her feelings of love surface, her feelings of lust took over. Passion is ok in the short term, but not for the long haul. But there was something else that bothered her.

She might have a "Flo" moment every now and then but make no mistake about it; Chelsea Ophelia Daniels is not stupid. She knows her best friend. She knows something about feeling a presence. She knows the dimensions of that room, too. After thinking about it for a minute, she had a hunch that Raven might not have been as lost in that song as she originally thought. There were times when they held back information and used deception to protect each other from being hurt. But Raven purposely teasing her was not cool, at least in her current frame of mind.

Chelsea sat in the first floor lounge for a few minutes to calm down before going upstairs. She was still tired and she really didn't want to get into an argument tonight, knowing that her anger was bubbling just beneath the surface. She heard a couple of girls coming toward the lounge and hurriedly pulled her cell phone out to fake a conversation. She was not in a chatty mood right now. They came in, saw that Chelsea was on the phone and went back out. _"Good." _She thought to herself. It was then that her eyes fixed on her cell phone's screen saver. It was The Three Amigos. She had Eddie's mother take a picture of the three of them at the airport before Eddie went to school. She saw how excited the three of them were to start a new chapter in their lives. Before she knew it she was dialing.

"_Hello."_

"Hey, Eddie." Mustering as much fake glee in her voice as she could.

"_As I live and breathe, Chelsea, my Chelsea! What's up, Chelly!"_

"Nothin'. How's Philly treatin' ya these days?" With more fake pep in her voice.

"_Can't complain. School's good. Food's good. Women are even better. Only thing that sucks is the weather. It's about 35 right now. I ain't never been this cold before!" _"_So how is my favorite redhead?"_

Eddie knew how she was. He had talked to Raven earlier. He wanted to hear what Chelsea was going to say.

"I'd be lying to you if I said I was ok." "I'm just… Can I ask you a question?"

"_You just did."_ Eddie chuckled.

"Seriously." Chelsea's business-like tone ended his chuckling.

"_Oldest one in the book. My bad. Go ahead."_

"One of the girls here has a roommate that told her that she fell in love with her best girlfriend from back home."

"_I'm waiting for the question."_

"Let me finish. Anyway, the roommate was scared to say anything because not only was she was afraid that she would lose her best friend, but she was friends with her best friend's brother too. Well the girl with the roommate asked me what she should do. What should I tell her?"

Had he not had the conversation with Raven earlier in the day, he would have thought nothing of Chelsea's question. Chelsea is very sensitive to the feelings of other people. And it was entirely plausible that she would have been bothered by the dilemma. But he did have that earlier conversation and recognized the question as a very thinly disguised summary of her situation. He was not going to push her though. He knew that if he led her to the well, she would drink.

"_What did Rae say?"_

She was ready for that one.

"I didn't ask her. It would have felt too much like gossip if I did, and that is too personal to do that with."

"_Fair enough."_ He said to her. _"Nice save, Chels." _He said to himself. _"Has she tried talking to the brother about it?"_

"She's afraid that he will think that she's a freak and she'll lose him too."

"_Maybe she's underestimating the brother. He might be more understanding than she thinks."_

"The three of them grew up together, they're like family."

"_But the roommate is not, technically family. Look. People change. Situations change. Feelings change. This is 2006. The brother should understand that. If he cares anything about his friend, he would help her by giving her a clue about his sister if he had one." "How does the roommate THINK her best friend feels?"_

"She thinks she might feel the same way, but she doesn't have any concrete proof."

"_Look, I just recently told someone that the eyes are the window to the soul. That'll be all the proof that she needs. Just look into her eyes. They will tell the story."_

"That's funny. My m-… someone told her that not to long ago."

"_There you go. My grandmamma calls that 'confirmation, honey!'" _(Eddie pauses) _"You will be fine."_ Eddie winces at his Freudian slip, not wanting to reveal his insider information.

"What did you say?" Chelsea asked pensively, afraid that she had been discovered.

Always one for a quick save, Eddie comes back. _"Just tell the girl to tell her roommate 'You will be fine. Just trust your heart.'" _He threw in this last bite, _"And, by the way, I think the brother will be fine, too."_

"Thanks, Eddie… She… really needs to hear that."

"_Anytime. I gotta go, but tell Rae I said hi and that I'll call her tomorrow."_

"Ok. Bye, Eddie."

"_Bye… sis."_ (Eddie hangs up the phone.)

A chill ran up Chelsea's spine as she hit the "END" button on her phone. He knew. He knew and seemed to be cool with it. "Did he talk to her?" She thought to herself. "Doesn't matter at this point. It'll all come out in the wash, eventually." She answered herself back.

She thought to herself how Eddie could have given her the third degree and really made her sweat. But he simply listened and gave her good advice. She made a mental note to tell Eddie how much she loved him the next time she saw him.

With that bit of business off her mind, she now had to re-psych herself to go upstairs. It was around 6:15. She was sure Raven was dressed by now. She was still angry about the peep show episode, with herself, with Raven, but at least she was calm enough to swallow it for the sake of harmony, at least for tonight.

She was still unsure as to whether she was going to bring up the subject tonight or tomorrow. But she was tired and her bed was calling. She could always listen to her I-Pod and tune everything out. Mind, body and soul were now settled enough to go back up.

As the elevator doors opened, she unconsciously started whistling the chorus to "Crazy In Love."

"Yep." She said out loud to herself as she stepped on. "Damn song's gonna be in my head all night."

(Chelsea resumes her whistling as the doors close.)

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**The fastest updater in cyberspace has finished Chapter 5. I hope you're having as much fun reading it as I am having writing it. See you soon for Chapter 6.**


	6. The Eyewall

**DISCLAIMER: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Warren-Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Author's Note: I am trying as hard as possible to keep this Rated-T. However, there is some M-rated dialogue later on in the chapter. I do believe in the context of the story, it has it's place. I hope you feel the same way. Please, enjoy! **

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**Thunderstorms**

_**Chapter 6**_

**The Eyewall**

_Wikipedia defines the __**eyewall**__ of a storm as a band around the eye of greatest wind speed, where clouds reach highest and precipitation is heaviest. The heaviest wind damage occurs where a hurricane's eyewall passes over land._

It's been more than an hour since the end of Raven's show and Chelsea hadn't returned. Raven began to wonder to herself if maybe she had gone a little too far. She has never thrown anything up in Chelsea's face. Then again, she thought to herself, what she was throwing about an hour ago was pretty damned good. The two halves of Raven were now in conflict with one another.

The friend half of her did feel bad that she so pointedly tried to manipulate a reaction out of her best friend. The potential lover half of her felt like she did what was necessary to be fully noticed.

Raven was now more appropriately dressed for a Sunday night in the dorm. White cotton tank top, baggy black sweats with pink stripes down the sides and fluffy pink bedroom slippers were the uniform of the night. The black Vickie's were still lurking... waiting... just in case.

She lying on her bed, back flat, head propped up on two pillows, in the middle of a boring round of channel surfing when she heard keys jingling at the door. She was tempted to contort her body into a compromising pose but cooler halves of the brain prevailed. Her eyes remained fixed on the screen as light from the hallway rolled into the room with the opening of the door.

"Hey, girl." Raven broke the ice as she slid her body up to a 45-degree angle, remote control still in hand.

"Hey, yourself." Chelsea responded with a muted but friendly greeting as she walked over to her desk to drop her keys.

"So how was home." Raven probed.

"Quiet and peaceful. Since it was raining yesterday I just kinda sat around." Chelsea said as she was unpacking her bags. She was careful to only glance sideways in Raven's direction. She still didn't have the strength to look directly at her.

Raven was glancing as well, only a little more frequently. She was hoping to lock eyes with Chelsea, but without being too obvious.

"You feeling a little better?" Raven mentally winced with a mixture of _"Should I have said that?" and "How is she going to respond?"_

Chelsea paused at this question. Part of her wanted to say _"I saw you dancing around like a video vixen, got all hot and bothered, fingered myself in the bathroom downstairs and still I can't look you in the eye! How the hell do you think I feel?" _Part of wanted to say that she talked to Eddie, just like I think you did, and he's okay with the way I feel and I'm happy about that. Another part of her wanted to say, _"Take off that wifebeater and those slippers and I'll feel better!"_

All of that remained in her head as she answered "Definitely better than Friday."

Raven saw this as an opportunity to bring some life into the conversation, maybe even get a half-smile from her strawberry goddess. "Yeah, the way you came in here I thought somebody had spray painted "VEGETARIANS SUCK!" on your car..." That got a smirk out of Chelsea. Rae wasn't done. "...and tied pieces of steak to the bumper..."

"Alright, Rae!" Chelsea said softly laughing.

"...and A-1 Steak Sauce in your ashtray..."

"OK!" Chelsea now laughing a little harder.

"...in your glove compartment...one of those little cows you put in the refrigerator... when you open it, goes 'Mooooooo!' "

Chelsea fell on to her bed laughing hysterically. When Raven gets on a roll with one of those jokes, she won't stop until you lose it.

_"Haven't lost my touch." _She thought as she watched "her Chels" break out of a two and a half day old funk.

"Now that's the Chelsea I remember!" Raven exclaimed as she stood up closing the distance between the two. Chelsea was still laughing though not as hard as before. "Yeah! That's right!" Raven cheered her on. She extended her hand up and out for a high five. "Gimme some!" "Still the joke-tellin' champ!" Chelsea returned the high-five shaking her head and finishing her laugh. It was the first time she had laughed like that in weeks. It was also the first time in two days that she had looked Raven in the eyes. She saw the events of Friday night and Sunday afternoon flash before her when she locked eyes with Raven for that brief moment. Excitement, nervousness, joyousness, hopefulness, fear. She felt all the emotions her mother described in her true love diatribe in that instant. It was the last one that made her quickly turn and resume her Sunday night rituals.

Raven had a flash of the events of the weekend at that moment as well. She saw Chelsea recoil slightly as if she didn't want to get pulled in. Raven decided to engage her in more conversation to keep her from closing back up.

"You didn't ask me how my weekend was." Raven went to sit upright on her bed, hugging her pillow.

_"I know you are not going to sit here and tell me that you did something fun while I sat at home brooding over you." _Chelsea spat to herself.

Chelsea replied, doing her best impersonation of Dr. Sean McNamara from Nip/Tuck, "Tell me what you didn't like about your weekend."

"It was pretty crappy. I couldn't do anything Saturday 'cause the power went out. My iPod died, so I couldn't listen to it. I was dead in the water."

"I'm surprised you didn't naw your foot off."

"Then I couldn't wear the heels I bought Tuesday!"

"You've got issues, Rae." Chelsea joked. "What else?" Chelsea was fishing. She had a feeling Raven had talked to Eddie, she wanted confirmation. She didn't have to wait long.

"Oh! And I talked to Eddie! He said hi and that he would call you."

_"Well thank you for being honest about that." _Chelsea said to herself  
"How is he?" She said.

"Lemme see. His exact words were, 'All the la-dees in Phill-y are goin' sill-y for big E! Wooo!' Raven recalled.

"He is an idiot." Chelsea offered smiling. They both thought the same thing inside when she said that, _"I love that idiot!" _

Chelsea decided to press a little. "So what did y'all talk about?"

Raven put on her dancing shoes. "Oh, you know... stuff." "The women in Philly, the weather, life..." She managed to choke out one last subject. "...you."

Chelsea felt herself get a little warm, but she played it cool. "What about me?" She said with a slightly defensive tone.

"He asked me where you were and... I told him that you went home for the weekend to chill. That it had been a rough week for you."

"Did you go into detail?" Chelsea's defense tightened up. She acknowledged to herself that Rae talked to Eddie about herself, but the idea of Raven talking about her behind her back, well-intentioned or not, about the past couple of weeks didn't sit well with her.

"I mentioned that you kirked-out a little on Friday and that you needed to get away... and that I was worried about you."

The last part tugged on one of Chelsea's heart strings. She almost thanked Raven for her concern until one of the phrases in Raven's last sentence jumped out at her. Her mind would not let it go.

"Kirked-out." "You told him that I kirked-out?" Chelsea felt the temperature of her blood rise a few degrees.

"Well... no. I didn't tell him that you...kirked-out... I think the phrase I used... was... 'flicked off'." Raven didn't like where this was going.

Chelsea raised the volume on her voice. "So now I'm some crazy bitch that 'flicked off' on you?" Her brown eyes darkening by the second.

"No, Chels...I-I just told him that you were upset and 'flicked off' and we cried. That's it." Raven held back the other parts because she knew now was not the time for THAT revelation.

"Well why didn't you just tell him everything! You should have told him that I am a class-failing, boyfriend-losing, wannabe actress who can't get her act together!"

"Chels, stop it!..."

"While you were at it why didn't you tell him that I boo-hooed like a little baby, SLOBBERED ON MYSELF AND WENT HOME CRYING TO MOMMY!"

Chelsea was about to blow a head gasket.

Raven starts to well up. "COME ON, CHELS!..."

Chelsea is now screaming. "DON'T YOU 'COME ON, CHELS' ME! WHY COULDN'T YOU KEEP YOUR FUCKIN' MOUTH SHUT FOR ONCE!"

Tears started to stream down Raven's face. She was hurt because she upset Chelsea, Chelsea was yelling and Chelsea dropped an F-bomb on her. She realized her vision was about to come true.

"IT WASN'T LIKE THAT, CHELS!" "I WAS WORRIED ABOUT YOU... AND EDDIE CALLED... AND... IT'S JUST BEEN REALLY DIFFICULT AROUND HERE LATELY! I'M SORRY IF YOU DIDN'T...

Chelsea was fixated on one word. "DIFFICULT. NOW NOT ONLY AM I A CLASS-FAILING, BOYFRIEND-LOSING, WANNABE ACTRESS BABY, BUT NOW... I'M...DIFFICULT."

Raven is now sobbing. "Chelsea... don't do this...I'm sorry... I...

"Difficult, huh?" "Well ya know what? I can take care of that problem tomorrow!" There was a defiant, resolute tone in Chelsea's voice as she moved toward the room door.

Raven half-expected Chelsea to storm out right there, but she knew that the vision she had earlier in the day was not complete. Her sobbing started to subside as she began to utter the words that she knew would fulfill the prophecy.

"Ch-Chelsea, what exactly do you mean by that?"

Chelsea's eyes became glassy with tears. "I will just march my ass over to Resident services and request to be moved since living with me is so 'difficult'!" Chelsea begins to cry.

Raven began to sob again. "Chels...that's not what I meant...

Chelsea is now in full sob mode. "Save it Rae! What I really need (sobs) is to be left alone! (sobs) Can...you...please... leave me the hell alone? (sobbing) Can you do that? Chelsea painfully squeezes out as she slides down the door until she is sitting on the floor, hunched at the shoulders sobbing uncontrollably.

Raven wanted to reach out to her. Tell her that she was sorry for hurting her. But Chelsea was wounded. You don't approach a wounded animal unless you know how to. Raven was too upset, crying too hard to figure it out. With Chelsea blocking the door, Raven went to the only place she could to escape the sight of a broken Chelsea. She retreated to the bathroom and turned on the shower to drown out Chelsea's crying... and to shield Chelsea from the sound of hers.

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**Chapter 6 is in the books. Sorry I had to get serious on you but it had to be done. Let me know what you think. This chapter is for all of you that have reviewed so far. I have gone this far because of you. Thanks.**

**Triple L**


	7. Flash Flood

**DISCLAIMER: ****Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Warren-Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Author's Note: This is at its core a Rated-T story. However, as in life, not every conversation, thought or activity we engage in is suitable for children. That being said, this chapter is rated M. I won't tell you why. But if you think about the emotionally charged exchanges in the last chapter and a half, you can imagine what is contained below. I do believe that in the context of the story, it is necessary. Reader's discretion is advised. I hope you enjoy it.**

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**Thunderstorms**

_**Chapter 7**_

**Flash Flood**

A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas, rivers and streams, that is caused by the intense rainfall associated with a thunderstorm, or multiple thunderstorms. Flash floods are extremely dangerous because of their sudden nature. Being in a vehicle provides little to no protection against being swept away.

When the eyewall of a storm passes over land, the greatest amount of damage is inflicted. The last exchange between the two roommates pretty much took care of that. Chelsea's already fragile psyche took a huge hit when Raven told her that she had talked to Eddie about her Friday night meltdown. Chelsea was embarrassed that she let her anger get the best of her on Friday. She didn't want anyone else to know that it happened, not even Eddie. She was about to apologize to Raven for Friday, when the words "kirked-out" lit her fuse. She had moments when the elevator stopped just short of the penthouse, but she didn't want people - her friends - to think she was crazy.

But as Chelsea sat on the floor in front of the dorm room door drying her tears, she knew that she was wrong to blast Raven like she did. All Raven did was express to one her best friends that she was worried about her. For as much rage as she felt less than ten minutes earlier, all she feels now is remorse for stinging her best friend. The shower was still running. _"Was Raven going to be alright?" _She pondered. _"Was she mad at me for cursing at her?" "Should I go check on her?" _Chelsea had decided that she needed to know that Raven was ok. At the same time, she wanted to be cautious. For the second time that night, she did not know what Raven had waiting for her on the other side of a closed door.

Raven was in the process of drying her tears. With each tear she wiped away, a flash of anger took its place.

_"I talk to my best friend, worrying about your stressed-out ass and you turn on me?" _Her mind fumed. _  
"Cry ten-thousand times on my shoulder, gettin' cheap-ass mascara on my shirts, and I get bombed out!" _Part of Raven's mind was on full irrational boil. _  
"Love you? I oughta break my foot off in your stupid ass! Make you eat a T-bone steak... and a hot dog! That's what I oughta do! Stupid tree-huggin' vee-ga-tarian ass!" _Her mind now taking unnecessary mental pot shots.

Part of her felt unappreciated for her concern. Another part of her could understand Chelsea's point of view. Someone describes someone else "flicking off", and you envision someone so pissed off that the police needs on of those tasers to calm them down. Chelsea was venting on Friday night. She just had a lot to vent and it was more intense. And another part of her wanted to push this aside and get to the heart of the matter as far as she was concerned, the feelings that she had for Chelsea, the feelings that she now believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that Chelsea had for her.

She finished cleaning up her face and decided that since the shower was still running that she would hop in, finish calming down and then sincerely apologize to Chelsea... if Chelsea was still there.

She turned from the sink to face the shower when she heard a faint knock at the bathroom door.

"Rae?" Chelsea eased the door open, hoping she doesn't get greeted by a flying curling iron.

Raven stood in the middle of the bathroom with her best poker face, feet shoulder width apart, hands at her sides like a cowboy readying for a gunfight. Chelsea stood with her hand still on the doorknob looking Raven in the eye looking for a clue as to her state of mind.

"I'm sorry." Chelsea opened the dialogue, her brown eyes wide and apologetic. "You didn't deserve that... out there." Chelsea said motioning to the room with her head. "I was wrong to yell and curse at you." "You were being a true friend... and I appreciate that." Five seconds ticked by and Raven didn't move.

"This has been a ridiculous week and I..." Raven put her index finger the air and then to her lips, indicating to Chelsea that she wanted her silence. Raven quickly closed the distance between them and threw her arms around Chelsea shoulders and neck to embrace her.

With the exception of the high-five they shared earlier, this was the first physical contact they had since Friday night. It was exhilarating for both of them. They both closed their eyes and absorbed each other. This was no time for words, sight, sound... simply touch. Every part of both their bodies experienced the combination of tingling with excitement and warming with closeness.

As she held Chelsea, Raven thought back to Friday, Chelsea in her arms crying, her own eyes closed taking in the emotion of the moment, much like she was doing now. At that moment, an old friend decided to pay a visit. That "grip" that gently pulled on her Friday, that "grip" that surged through her body and awakened her mind to her attraction to Chelsea, that all-consuming "grip" was back. Raven felt every goose bump form on her body. She felt the fabric of her bra straining against her now taut nipples. She felt the moisture of her arousal building rapidly inside panties that she had the distinct feeling would find themselves on the floor in the not-so-distant future.

Chelsea was experiencing nearly identical sensations. Her mind was now connecting the voluptuous form that it saw dancing before to the warm body that was now in its' embrace. The black bra and panties, the "booty pop", the tank top all became part of the mental slideshow now being played inside her head. Chelsea's nipples ached in anticipation of her mind saw as their inevitable release, her arousal nearing its readiness.

Raven lifts her head from Chelsea's shoulder and slow slides it back, brushing her cheek against Chelsea's, the corner of her lips inches from Chelsea's now hot skin. She positions herself face-to face with Chelsea as they take in what are now the final seconds of their platonic friendship. Tilting their heads ever so slightly they press their lips gently together, pulses quickening with first contact. Breathtaking was not the word for it. Their world was spinning. The kiss became more passionate by the second. Raven slightly parted her lips and Chelsea took the opportunity to gently slide her tongue past Raven's willing lips. Raven gasped in excitement as Chelsea did this and responded by flicking the end of Chelsea's tongue with her own.

Chelsea slowly dragged her fingernails down the length of Raven's back stopping just above her tailbone, eliciting a purring moan from Raven. The darker girl responded by running her hands through Chelsea's thick auburn mane, grabbing two handfuls of her hair as she Chelsea cupped Raven's backside.

Raven, with Chelsea's hair still in hand pushed Chelsea against the bathroom wall, pulling Chelsea's head back as she began kissing her neck and collarbone.

"Oh... my... God!" Chelsea stammered as Raven continued her oral assault on Chelsea's neck.

Raven pressed her body against Chelsea as she devoured every inch of creamy skin she could find. Chelsea grabbed Raven's hair and instinctively drew her left leg up, caressing the outside of Raven's leg with hers.

Raven brought her head back up and met Chelsea's lips with a crushing kiss. This ignited Chelsea as she spun Raven around and now had her pinned against the wall. "Oh, shit!" Raven managed to spit out before Chelsea lifted Raven's arms above her head as she ferociously kissed the hazel-eyed beauty.

Chelsea brought her hands down to the bottom of Raven's tank top and with one motion yanked it free from her body. _"She's still got the Vickie's on! Hells yes!" _Chelsea's mind rejoiced. Chelsea grabbed both of Raven's breasts and nibbled on one, then the other through the fabric. "Uhh, God!" Raven's knees buckled as she slid several inches down the wall.

Chelsea pulled Raven back up from her slide as she worked her mouth feverishly back up to Raven's for another hungry kiss. Chelsea suddenly found her arms raised above her head as Raven lifted her sweater and t-shirt over her head, exposing her peach colored bra. Raven undid the clasp and took one of Chelsea's pink nipples into her mouth, caressing the other nipple with her thumb, sending Chelsea's senses into orbit. Raven didn't stop there. Chelsea's jeans became the next casualty as Raven made quick work of the redhead's button fly.

There was no time for words. All the words that needed to be spoken had been said. Years of friendship enabled them to complete one another's thoughts, sentences. Years of friendship gave them insight on one another. They had talked about the guys they had dated. They talked about the lines these guys had used on them. They talked about the guys that were lucky enough to make it past first base and how they fumbled around, not knowing what they were doing. Devon, Ben and others had been kicked to the curb for just that reason. They shared their ideal fantasy with each other. Each one involved the kind of uninhibited passion they were experiencing now. They knew that they would have it one day. They had no idea it would be with each other.

Raven slid her hands behind the waistband of Chelsea's boy short panties and was now cupping Chelsea's round bottom.

"Please..." Chelsea breathlessly whispered in Raven's ear, sending an electric charge straight through her. Raven knew exactly what she wanted. Raven with her back still against the wall used her hands to turn Chelsea around, her back now pressed against Raven's red-hot flesh, her hands above her head around Raven's neck. Raven slowly reached around, sliding her hands beneath Chelsea's waistband and gently caressed her.

"Yes!" Chelsea's response to Raven's touch. She repeated her response with every stroke. Their bodies rocking to the rhythm of Raven's caress. Raven then slid her middle finger inside nearly causing Chelsea to explode. Chelsea tightened her grip around Raven's neck, holding on for dear life. She opened her mouth to exclaim. No sound was present. She was in silent ecstasy. Raven's fire burned hotter with each passing minute. Chelsea had to come... Now!

Raven quickened her strokes. She felt Chelsea being to tremble. She heard Chelsea's breathing getting more shallow and quick. Raven pulled Chelsea closer to her with her free hand. Chelsea was close. Raven went for the kill. "Oh, God baby. Please come for me." Raven whispered into Chelsea's ear. Within seconds, Chelsea's body seized and shuddered in orgasm as she let out a primal scream that made the center of Raven's femininity quiver with excitement. Raven held Chelsea close as she experienced the electricity of the most powerful orgasm she ever had. Chelsea slowly turned to face the source of her pleasure, gave her another passionate kiss and whispered, "Shower."

The shower was still running. The bathroom door was still ajar and the water was lukewarm, so steam was at a minimum. The new lovers finished undressing and stepped into the shower, closing the stall door.

Chelsea hungrily kissed Raven. She had every intention of bringing Raven just as much pleasure here as she experienced just moments earlier. She purposely made sure Raven was in the shower stream. She thought Raven looked sexy wet. She told Raven that at a pool party they had attended that past summer. She said that then as just a girlfriend. She was now experiencing it as much more.

Chelsea ran her fingers through Raven's hair, which was now hanging at her shoulders. Chelsea began kissing down the nape of her neck, working her way to Raven's sensitive breasts. With every flick of Chelsea's tongue on her rock hard nipples, Raven would nearly jump out of her skin. She continued to work her way down, deliberately slowing down between the belly button and bikini line. Chelsea was ready. Raven was ready. Chelsea just wanted to hear it from Raven's lips. She didn't have to wait for those five magic words.

"Please, baby. Make me come." Raven begged.

Chelsea placed Raven's foot on the soap dish, providing her with easier access to the target of her desire. Reaching between Raven's legs, she placed both hands on Raven's backside and gently kissed Raven. "Uhhhh!" Raven gasped as Chelsea began planting full lip kisses on her clit. No tongue. Just lips. Raven began to grind her hips as she grabbed Chelsea by the back of her hair, inviting her for more. Just as she was warming to the rhythm of her kisses, Chelsea began to flick her tongue. Raven's silent ecstasy began. Raven was almost completely devoid of conscious thought at this point, although one did manage to sneak through. _"God, if she puts a tongue or a finger inside, it's over."_

As if Chelsea was having a mind-reading psychic cold, Chelsea slid her tongue past Raven's delicious folds into certain nirvana. The building crescendo of Raven's cries of pleasure rang in Chelsea's ears as her rapid fire tongue continued to dart until Raven's body could take no more. "Chel...sea... I'm... coming!" The words barely escaping her lips. A guttural scream similar to Chelsea's came from deep within at the height of Raven's thunderous orgasm. Chelsea kissed her way back up Raven's rapidly relaxing body, stopping as she came face to face with the most beautiful woman she has ever known.

Raven brushed away strands of wet hair away from Chelsea's face and gave her one more sweet kiss before placing her hands around Chelsea's neck. Chelsea in turn placed her hands around Raven's waist.

"I have something I have to tell you." Chelsea said as she gazed lovingly into Raven's eyes.

"You have my UNDIVIDED attention." Raven said grinning a Cheshire cat grin.

"I think I have feelings for you." Chelsea attempted to deadpan breaking out into giggles.

"I think I like you too." Raven said laughing.

"Does this mean we have to start watching 'The L-Word'?" Chelsea with another giggling attempt at deadpan humor.

"Shut up and turn off the shower before I look like a prune!" Raven still laughing from Chelsea's 'feelings' admission, now laughing harder at Chelsea's last joke.

Chelsea sexily replied, "I like prunes." She kissed Raven. "Thick... (Kiss)... juicy... (Kiss)... prunes."

"Turn the shower off. We've got some more making up to do." Raven growled as she kissed Chelsea once more before they retreated to their room for the night.

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**Y'all can turn the air conditioning off and call the kids back into the room. Chapter 7 is over. I debated whether or not to write this chapter. Please let me know if you like it. See you soon with Chapter 8.**


	8. In the Still of the Night

**DISCLAIMER: ****Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Warren-Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

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**Thunderstorms**

_**Chapter 8**_

**In the Still of the Night**

(Raven's POV)

It's 11:57. It had been almost six hours since the world that Chelsea and I knew had suddenly, breathlessly changed forever. When I woke up this morning, Chelsea Daniels was still my best friend. I am lying here next to her now and I don't know what Chelsea is to me.

We still haven't had our talk. I mean our clear-the-air, put-our-cards-on-the-table, discuss-our-feelings talk. We just took the emotions that we had at that moment and let them guide us. Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't change anything about this evening. I have never felt sexier, more alive, more beautiful than I do right now. Part of me doesn't care if we ever have the talk. We can stay right here in this state of suspended bliss forever.

But part of me knows that we have to talk. We have to find out what we expect from each other. We know each other as friends. We've got that part down cold. Being lovers… partners… whatever we decide to call ourselves will take work. It's hard enough dating in college, but same-sex dating, man! Then we have to figure out how we are going to handle family and friends. I don't know what's going to happen. And I am scared. But I would be so much more scared if it was anyone else but Chelsea.

Chelsea. My God, what that girl does to me! I didn't know my body could feel like that. I've had the three most earth shattering orgasms I have ever had. And I want more. So does she. She is insatiable. She was even keeping score! _"Four orgasms to three. You better catch up, Baxter." _She teased after her last one. I don't know where she learned what she does. Frankly, I don't care. I just know that my body is now addicted to her. This could pose a problem down the line if I'm not careful. I'm already trying to figure out what classes I'm going to skip today to be with her. But first, our talk. It's got to be today. I hope it turns out better than our last conversation. I'm sure it will. I need some sleep. She wore me out. Tired has never felt so good.

Raven drifted off to sleep sometime after midnight. She slept like a baby. Chelsea had been asleep since around 11. She normally reached REM sleep pretty quickly. She was a dreamer. Only one thing could keep her from dreaming, complete exhaustion. She was already physically and emotionally drained when she first got back to campus. Then the fight… then the makeup… the makeup, round two… the makeup, round three. Still despite all this, her body was not completely relaxed. There was still adrenaline coursing through her system. It was this adrenaline that roused her from her sleep at about 3 a.m.

Chelsea awoke to find herself snuggled in the crook of Raven's arm, her own arm draped across Raven's midsection, her leg draped over Raven's leg. This made her smile to herself. Raven had left her desk lamp on. It was 3:07. Chelsea had a 9 o'clock history lecture. There was no way, in her mind, that she was going. It was at that moment that she decided that the 12:00 Statistics class was history as well.

(Chelsea's POV)

I wish you could TiVo parts of your life, because if you could I would play the last eight hours over and over again. I knew that she would be a wonderful lover, but my God! Everything was better than I could have possibly imagined. Her skin was softer, sweeter, more caramel than I thought. To hell with candy! Wrap Raven in cellophane for Valentine's Day! Maybe I will. It would better than a Whitman's Sampler, that's for sure. She was the perfect mix of gentle but rough, in a good way. I told her once about my ideal lover. I'll be damned if she didn't listen… and how. I will never forget last night.

I know we still have to talk about all this, but I think it will be easier, won't it? No more wondering if she's attracted to me, if I'm attracted to her. We can talk about where to go from here. Where that is, I don't know. I just know that it has to be with her.

She looks SO good lying here. If I don't go back to sleep I'm going to have to wake her up… again. I cannot believe that I just made love to Raven. I still can't believe she did that dance! That's what started this crap in the first place. I'm going to make it a point to torture Eddie with that one when I talk to him. (Yawns) Yep, I'm going to get her back for that one, alright. I'm not the only one who is going to blush whenever they hear a Beyonce song. Her mind starts to sing her to sleep. _Got me lookin so crazy right now…_

Chelsea drifted off into the deepest sleep she has had in weeks.

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**A short chapter that I felt should stand alone. Their middle of the night thoughts. Chapter 9 is next. REVIEW!**


	9. The Day After

**DISCLAIMER: ****Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Warren-Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

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**Thunderstorms**

_**Chapter 9**_

**The Day After**

The sun peaked through the slits of the Venetian blinds, placing uniform slivers of natural light in the room. Today was the first time in 3 days the sun shone in San Francisco County. Today was the first time all semester that Chelsea and Raven had slept in. Today was also the first time they would have to deal with the events of the last 72 hours.

On a typical Monday morning in Hayden Hall, room 5134, the alarm would be set for 7:00. Chelsea would wake up, shower, dress and head over to the dining hall for some fruit, a bagel and a San Francisco Chronicle before the eight minute walk to her History class. Raven's ritual was pretty much the same; save for the extra hour she had before her 10 am Psych class.

This morning, however, no such alarm was set. This was not a typical Monday morning. According the alarm clock on Raven's nightstand, it was 8:42. The two residents of this room entangled in each others arms are still sound asleep. Raven is in the middle of a dream about strawberries.

(Raven's Dream)

Ripe juicy strawberries in the field. The smell is intoxicating. Her subconscious is at work. Her head is turned toward Chelsea. Her nose pointed directly in the direction of Chelsea's strawberry scented hair. The dream switches to her house. She is sitting at the table. There is a plate of fluffy pancakes with strawberries and syrup. She is naked in her dream. Chelsea is there, naked, feeding her, slowly, seductively. _"Mmmm… strawberries."_ She purrs in her dream. Chelsea leans in to kiss her. Closer. Closer. Their lips are about to touch… when the microwave timer goes off. _"More pancakes?"_ She asked Chelsea in her dream. Chelsea simply smiled. It goes off again, louder this time… then again still LOUDER…

She is snapped out of the dream by the sound of her telephone ringing. She snatched the cordless out of the cradle and hit the talk button in one motion. She glanced down at Chelsea who hadn't so much as stirred. "You've got to hit her with a brick to wake her up." Raven thought as she put the phone up to her ear.

"Hello." Raven in a voice barely above a whisper still raspy from sleep.

"_Did you just wake up? I thought you'd be getting' ready for class!"_ Said the familiar voice at the other end of the line.

"Hey, Eddie. Waz up wit chu?" Raven replied before the English part of her brain fully awoke.

"_Waz up wit me? Waz up wit chu? And why are you whispering? Are you hung over?"_ Eddie's reply was a mixture of worry and annoyance.

"No. Chels is still 'sleep. I don't want to wake her up." Said Raven, still whispering.

"_Still 'sleep. It's a quarter to twelve here, so it's a quarter to nine there. She's still asleep, you just waking up? Y'all must've had a… rough…" _Eddie stops his train of thought. Raven can hear the wheels turning in his head. His thought process has come to a juicy conclusion based on the limited evidence presented. _"Can I ask you a question?"_

"Fire away." Raven said as she glanced down at Chelsea, still asleep.

"_If I asked you to wake Chelsea up for me so I could talk to her, what would you do?"_

"I don't follow." Raven replied doing her best at playing dumb.

"_I mean, if I asked you to go to Chelsea, wake her up and tell her that Eddie is on the phone, he wants to talk to you, where would you go?"_

"What do you mean, where would I go? What kind of stupid-ass question is that?" Raven loved jerking Eddie's chain. She could string him along with the best of them.

"_Did I stutter? I said where- would- you- go. I want you to describe for me the exact steps that you would take to wake Chelsea up."_

"Well, I am lying on my bed, on my back. I suppose that I would lift my head, since Chelsea's bed is in my line of sight from here..."

"_Yeah?"_ Eddie says, anticipating deception on Raven's part.

"…then I would look to see if Chelsea was still asleep."

"_Keep going."_ He senses the payoff coming soon.

"Then I would call her name."

"_Don't keep stopping, just go ahead."_ Eddie's impatience with her hesitation is evident in his voice.

"Then if she didn't answer, I guess I would reach down and brush the hair out of her face and say, 'Sweetie, Eddie is on the phone for you.' After all, she is lying down next to me with her arm draped across my stomach."

This piece of information was not enough as far as Eddie was concerned. Raven and Chelsea had fallen asleep in bed talking before. He needed more.

"_Ok, fine." "Can I ask you one more question?"_ Eddie wants the final piece to the puzzle to confirm his suspicion.

"If you must." Raven says in a playfully dismissive, but still quiet tone. She knows the hammer is going to drop with this one.

"_If you had describe your current state of dress at this very moment, what word would you use and what word would you use to describe Chelsea's?"_

"That's a two-part question." Raven said with a devil-may-care grin, sensing that Eddie is about to burst into flames.

"_Just answer the damn question! Geez!"_

"Ok. Ok. The words that I would use would be 'indisposed' and 'indisposed'."

"_I knew…_ Eddie dropped the phone and started jumping around his room, pumping his fists in the air in excitement for his friends. _"…Yeah, baby! I knew y'all would do it! That's what I'm talkin' about!"_ Raven could hear Eddie screaming in the background.

"Eddie!" Raven tries to whisper-yell into the phone. She looks down to see Chelsea starting to stir.

"Is that Eddie?" Chelsea whispers groggily, not yet conscious.

"Yeah, it is." Raven answers her, as Eddie is still celebrating in the background.

"Tell him I'll call him when… I… wake…" With that, Chelsea drifted back to sleep.

Eddie scrambles back to the phone. _"Rae, I am so happy for y'all! So I take it the talk went well?"_

"Well, not exactly." She winced.

"_What do you mean, 'not exactly', if the talk didn't go will, then how did you end up…"_

"We didn't exactly talk." Raven cut him off.

"_What happened then if you didn't talk?"_

"We had a stupid argument and… well… she apologized, I hugged her and the rest, as they say is history."

"_So y'all never talked about your feeling or anything like that?"_

"Well, for a few seconds in the shower." Raven smiled, allowing herself to reminisce.

Eddie gulped as his imagination started running. _"The shower?" "What about… the shower?"_

Raven snapped back to reality. "Huh, what? Boy, they'll be burying me before you find anything like that out. That's personal. Ya nasty…! " "Anyway, when she wakes up, we'll talk."

"_And say what?"_

"Everything that we should have said weeks ago, how we feel, what triggered our feelings, how we're gonna go forward."

"_How are you gonna go forward?"_

Raven thought about this last question. She still didn't know. "I really don't know. But I'm not doing it without her. That much I do know. I love her and I want us to give this a try."

"_Just be careful. Y'all might be in San Francisco, but there are still some ignorant people out there, you know? I don't want to see anything happen to you."_

"We'll be careful. I'll stab 'em with my stilettos if I have to."

"_Well you know I'm there for you… for the both of you. I love y'all."_

"We love you too."

"_Now you sure you can't tell me anything about the shower?"_ Eddie had to try just one more time.

"The water was warm and wet! Now get off my phone!"

"_Damn the water, were y'all warm and…"_

"Get off my phone you nasty son-of-a…" Raven fired in mock anger.

"_Raven and Chelsea sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G… "_

"Goodbye… idiot!" Raven said chuckling.

"_Bye."_ Eddie starts singing. _"Secret lovers…"_ He laughed as he hung up the phone.

It was now a quarter after nine. Raven decided that it was time to get up but didn't have the heart to wake Chelsea. She knew Chelsea needed the rest. Raven just lay there wondering what the day was going to bring. After a few minutes, she closed her eyes. They didn't stay closed long. She was being watched.

"You know, closing your eyes around me these days could be dangerous."

To Raven, that might have been the sexiest sentence she ever heard Chelsea utter. It was a combination voice, raspy, warm and sleepy, slowly drawn out and suggestive.

Raven opened her eyes and replied with her now frequent Cheshire cat grin. "Seems like having my eyes open have their consequences too." "I thought you were going to sleep all day."

"I would, but I'm sure you have things to do today." Chelsea's sexy voice remained unaltered. _"You have got to stop with the voice, girl! I can't take that much longer!"_ Raven's mind pleaded.

"Nope. Cleared my whole day for you." Raven said with a smile.

"You know we still need to talk." Chelsea replied.

Raven nodded in agreement, "I know. We will. Do you mind if we eat first? I'm kinda starving."

"You read my mind." Chelsea slowly slid away from Raven, stood facing Raven and overhead stretched some of her sleepiness away. Raven was mesmerized by the stretch. Chelsea took notice.

"What, you've never seen anyone stretch before?" Said Chelsea with a smirk and a raised eyebrow reminiscent of The Rock.

"I am not going there with you right now, girl. Just go get cleaned up so we can go eat."

"Where is my morning kiss?" Chelsea asked playfully. "She's in a good mood. That's a good start." Raven thought.

"On the other side of our toothbrushes. Morning breath? Hello?"

"Good point." Chelsea acknowledged. "Wanna share?" She motioned to the bathroom.

"The last time we shared the bathroom, not a lot of cleaning got accomplished." Raven said sarcastically.

"I… meant… One of us showers, and the other brush or whatever." Chelsea replied as she gathered her bath accessories.

"Oh. I knew that." Raven said blushing.

"And you said black girls don't blush." Chelsea said smiling and biting her bottom lip as she started toward the bathroom door.

"You gon' be blushing AGAIN if you don't get in there. I'll be in there in a minute."

As Chelsea closed the bathroom door, Raven thought to herself, so far so good. She's in a good mood. They still wanted each other. They still wanted to talk. Raven continued her morning rituals, albeit almost three hours late.

It was the day after the storm. The sun was shining bright; the day was full of promise. The talk was looming but it was something they were both looking forward to. Raven was firmly affixed on Cloud Nine. She was in love. It felt good. She felt free.

Chelsea turned on the shower and looked around the bathroom. Debris from last evening's storm remained, a bra here, a pair of panties over there, a sweater over there. The word, Wow, was all that came to her mind. She was in love. It felt good. She felt free.

The calm after the storm was under way.

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**Chapter 9. What do you think? I am having so much fun with this. Should I keep going? I think I will. Chapter 10 is coming soon. BTW, I think I want to do a ****reader's choice chapter****. What do y'all want to see? There is one more thing I want to see. Let me know. Your wish will be my command. Maybe not for the next chapter, but soon after. The most asked for idea wins. Thanks for reading.**

**Triple L**


	10. Talk Soup

**DISCLAIMER: ****Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Warren-Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Author's Note: After much debating over the content of this story, and re-reading it myself, I decided to change the rating for the whole story from T to M. The chapter "Flash Flood" and its aftermath convinced me that I have to go there. I hope that doesn't take away from your enjoyment. I promise to behave… just a little! Enjoy!**

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**Thunderstorms**

_**Chapter 10**_

**Talk Soup**

It was an unusually warm February day in the suburbs of San Francisco. The 72-degree temperature coupled with a light breeze made for the perfect day by the bay. It was around 11:30, when Chelsea and Raven emerged from their room. They were stopped in their tracks almost immediately by the familiar voice behind them.

"Hey, are y'all alright?"

Gina Melendez. A sophomore from San Bernardino. She was a nice enough girl. She was a journalism major whose dream job was to be the 5 and 11 pm anchor at KNBC in Los Angeles. "Colleen Williams has nothing on me!" is her mantra. Gina's thirst for information tends to make her a little pushy, however, she does it in such a way that makes it almost impossible to get mad at her. She seems to really care.

"Yeah. Fine. Why?" Raven quizzically asks Gina while looking at Chelsea.

"Well, you missed lecture today and I normally see Chels in the dining hall before her class. I just wanted to make sure everything was ok."

"_Crap!" _Raven mentally kicked herself for forgetting that Gina was in the same 10 am Psych section. Chelsea remained stone-faced so as not to give anything away.

"Yeah, we're fine. We just decided to take the day off. It's been a long month." Raven deftly replied.

"Yeah, we just needed some time to ourselves. I barely see Rae anymore." Chelsea chimed in as she gave Raven a best friend-like peck on the cheek that was received in exactly the opposite fashion. Raven felt her second blush of the morning coming on… fast. This was not lost on Gina, as she looked puzzled by the peck and the reaction it elicited. Raven needed a quick cover.

"Didn't I tell you about all that mushy stuff, dummy." Raven doing a bad impression of Fred Sanford as she playfully swatted at Chelsea.

"Are you sure everything is ok, Rae?" Gina persisted as her sixth sense antenna went up.

"Yes, it's all good Gina." "Do you mind if I get a copy of your notes from class?" Raven quickly shifting focus.

"Sure. Stop by anytime." Gina turned her attention to Chelsea. "Hey, Chels, you missed it. They had fresh peaches this morning."

"_Oh, yeah?" _Chelsea thought. _"Well I had fresh peaches last night." _Her mind referring to Raven's peach scented body spray.

"Man…" Chelsea replied. "… I would have liked that." Chelsea lamented.

"You know what would have made it better… whipped cream." Chelsea continued in her normal tone. Raven, however, knew that statement was loaded. She felt her heat rise knowing that the remark was directed toward her. _"I will never tell her about one of my fantasies ever again." _Raven reminded herself. Chelsea was trying to get her hot in public!

"Yep, just spread whipped cream all over them and eat 'em up." Chelsea teased. "Don't you like whipped cream, Rae?"

Raven shifted uncomfortably trying to hold her composure. "Yeah, Chels, whipped cream. Yummy." _"I am going to kill her when I get the chance."_

Gina looks at the two of them, trying to read the vibe between them. She makes a mental note to do some digging later then decides that she's had enough weirdness for one day. "Well, I've gotta go. I've gotta meet somebody at 12. Rae. Chels. See ya later!"

With that, the Latina beauty spun made a hasty retreat to her room.

Raven spun around and slapped Chelsea on the arm.

"Oww! What was that for?" Chelsea said half-laughing, half-smarting from Raven's quick hit.

"What was that, with the kiss and… and… and… the whipped cream?" Raven's blush was in full effect.

"Just the beginning of my payback for your little burlesque show." Chelsea whispered.

Raven looked around to see if anyone was watching their exchange. "Payback. Payback? I got your payback right here." At that instant she reached around behind Chelsea and popped her bra strap, then laughing like a mad scientist, took off running toward the stairs.

Chelsea took off running after her. Rae flew down the stairs, out of the building and didn't stop until she reached her car. Chelsea caught up to her just as she reached Raven's 2003 Toyota Rav4. They were both out of breath and laughing.

"Get in." Raven ordered.

"What's in it for me?" Chelsea asked with her second raised eyebrow of the morning.

"Not having to walk to IHOP. Now get in… I woke up this morning craving strawberry pancakes."

"Mmmm… strawberries." Chelsea's mouth started to water.

"That's my line!" Raven remembering her earlier dream. She meant to say that in her head, but said it out loud instead.

"What?"

"Nothing. Let's go."

It was a fifteen-minute car ride to the IHOP. They ran into a midday traffic jam on the way. Raven figured it was as good a time as any to start "the talk".

"So about last night… I'm sorry if I pushed myself on you. I let my emotions run and take over. I honestly just meant to talk to you, take it slow, you know?"

Chelsea reached over and placed her hand on top of Raven's free hand. "Look, Rae. You didn't push yourself on me. I was a willing accomplice. I don't regret anything that happened last night."

"I could tell by the little innuendo land mines you've been dropping this morning. I've never seen that side of you." Raven said as she kept her eyes fixed on the road.

Chelsea's "voice" from earlier returned. "Sorry if that bothered you. I've never felt… frisky around you until now."

Raven had a quick rebuttal. "So were calling it frisky now? Not ravenously horny for my body?"

"Your choice of words, not mine." Chelsea purred.

"I can't talk to you when you do that." Raven shot back.

"That what?" Chelsea feigned ignorance.

"That voice. You know like you're trying to turn me on."

"It's working, though. I can see you squirm every time I do it. It's how I feel this morning." Chelsea had Raven's libido in her cross hairs. "Do you want me to stop?"

"For just a few minutes. I promise, if you're good, I'll play with you later. But first, business before pleasure." Raven doing her best to talk Chelsea down.

"OK. I'll behave." Chelsea said with a mock pout.

Raven wanted to lay the framework for their new relationship. She knew it was going to be different in some ways, but she was hopeful that it could remain the same in other ways.

"I want to be sure that we know what it is that we are getting into… that we're on the same page… that we know what to expect from each other."

"You sound like you've got some questions, Rae. So why don't you start."

"Ok, who are we going to tell?"

"For right now, just Eddie."

"Took care of that this morning."

"What? Rae, how could you? I wanted us to tell him together."

"I'm sorry, Chels. He started playing his version of twenty questions and he backed me into a corner."

"How'd he take it?"

Rae lit up like a Christmas tree. "He's happy for us, Chels! I mean he is really cool about this! I thought he might be weird but he really wasn't. I really love him for that."

"Rae, did you tell him how you felt about me when you talked to him Sunday?"

"Yeah, I did. I didn't come out and say it. I was talking about how much I care about you and that I was worried about you and he read in between the lines."

They pulled in to IHOP's parking lot. Raven found a space near the middle with no cars in the area and shut off the engine.

"When did you start feeling this way about me?" Chelsea asked eagerly but tenderly.

"I guess it started a few weeks ago. You were just so stressed out about everything. I was constantly thinking about how to make you feel better." Raven began. "Then I started thinking that the men in your life just weren't taking care of you and that if it was me I would do this and that." "Then on Friday, when you…"

"Flicked off. It's ok. I did 'flick off'." Chelsea reassured Raven.

"Yeah... Well, I hugged you and these feelings just came rushing to the surface. It was so powerful. I had never experienced anything like that. I got… aroused." Raven offered nervously. "What about you? When did you… start having feelings… for me?"

"I realized it about a month ago. Tommy and I started having problems and I started getting down because nobody seemed to be there for me. I felt like I was never going to find true love. Then one day my mother starts up conversation about true love, describing to me what it's like. I started thinking about it. Every question I asked myself about what I wanted in my true love pointed me to you."

Chelsea continued. "The reason I kept so busy is that I couldn't stand being in the same room with you." "I wanted to say things, do things with you, for you, to you that… well I couldn't. Not then anyway."

"Then if we both felt like this Chels, then why did we get in to fight last night?"

"I was angry. I was scared, confused… and still kind of uncomfortable around you." Chelsea admitted. "I know it's silly, after all these years feeling uncomfortable around you." "But I never felt this way about you before."

"Well, how about now?" Raven leans in, almost nose-to-nose with Chelsea. "What are you feeling right now?"

"I'm very content, confident, crystal clear in my thoughts and… VERY… comfortable." Chelsea responded as she slowly, sensuously kissed Raven.

Raven catches herself and pulls back before she gets in too deep. "Whoa! Ok. What about PDA's?" "I mean… you were pushing it to the limit with that little episode in front of Gina back at the dorm."

"Sorry about that. I was just being… frisky. I'll be more… discreet next time." Chelsea did her best to make Raven comfortable. "I tell you what, Rae. It'll be business as usual unless we are absolutely sure no one is watching. That is until we are ready for the world to know."

"When will that be, Chels?"

"I don't know. Why don't the two of us get used to this first. Then we'll see."

"I think I like that." Raven breathed a sigh of relief. "Just in case I haven't told you lately, I love you, Chelsea... Ophelia... Daniels."

"Well, just in case I haven't told you lately, I love you, Raven... Lydia... Baxter."

One more soft, sweet lingering kiss sealed the deal.

"Now let's go eat!" Raven's stomach was beginning to growl.

"Hold on a sec, Rae. We need nicknames for each other." Chelsea excitedly proclaimed.

"Now? Can we do that while we're ordering? I'm starvin' here!"

"C'mon, Rae! I've got one for you! Peaches!"

"That sounds like a stripper name!" Raven replied somewhat horrified.

"But that's what you smelled like last night." Chelsea dropping her voice into that seductive coo that made Raven weak.

"Oh damn!" As Raven felt herself begin to get turned on. "Peaches it is then."

"What about me? What about me?" Chelsea was now bouncing in the seat like a kid in the ball pit at Chuck E. Cheese.

"Strawberry." Raven remembering her dream.

"Strawberry. I like that."

"Oh, one more thing, Chels. What was that crap earlier about payback for my 'burlesque show'?" Raven was curious as to what was in store for her.

Chelsea started to get out of the truck then looked back over her shoulder, dropping her voice one more time. "Revenge is a dish best served HOT."

"You mean cold. Revenge is a dish best served cold." Raven corrected her.

"I know what I meant. One day soon, you will too." Chelsea then got out of the truck, closed the door and never looked back.

Raven sat in the driver's seat looking at her new lover walk toward the restaurant. She decided to borrow a line from The Wizard of Oz. "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

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**Well, Chapter 10 is history. Although it is a nice round number, I'm not done yet. Chelsea said, "Revenge is a dish best served HOT." What does that mean? What's she got up her sleeve? Stay tuned to find out!**


	11. The Envelope

**DISCLAIMER: ****Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Warren-Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

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**Thunderstorms**

_**Chapter 11**_

**The Envelope**

(Raven's POV)

It's been a little more than a month since Chelsea and I started dating. It's still so surreal to even think about. I have never been happier in my life. To say that the only thing that has changed between us is sex would be oversimplifying what we have. She was and is my best friend. She, I believe, is my soul mate. When it really matters, she knows what is going on inside me before I even know and vice versa. And when you have a knack for getting yourself into jams, like we sometimes do, it pays to have someone like that in your life.

Everything that I've always loved about Chelsea the Friend, seems to be amplified now that she is Chelsea the Lover. The jokes are funnier; the 'Flo' moments are even sweeter. And God help me, she is even more beautiful. And I must have unleashed a sexual beast inside her because Chelsea has this indescribable sexual appetite complete with this… swagger. I have been able to verbally check Chelsea for the better part of 15 years, whether we're playing or being serious. Now, she says two or three properly placed words to me and I melt. And I actually love it. It is so different for us.

We still haven't put a name on what we are. We refer to ourselves as "us" or "we". The terms lesbian, partner, significant other, those are labels that society puts on you to pigeon hole you and make them feel more at ease with who you are. Right now, the most accurate thing for me to say to anyone if asked is that I am in love with Chelsea and that we are together.

We are supposed to go home this weekend, one night at her house, one night at mine. That is going to be tough. I mean… we have been doing fine in public so far shying away from funny looks, holding hands, et cetera. But I did have that dream about strawberry pancakes in my kitchen. I know I'm going to blush when I walk in there. I've been blushing a lot lately. And the sleeping arrangements. Both of us have one, and I emphasize, ONE queen-sized bed in our rooms. When we sleepover, we normally share. I don't know how that is going to work now. We've been on it like rabbits in heat over the last month. One of us might have to sleep in a tub of ice water this weekend!

I love this feeling. I know it will cool down sooner or later, but I'm going to ride the wave as long as I can. I'm officially sprung!

(Chelsea's POV)

I feel like a different person. I felt liked I was trapped, bottled up inside before "Super Sunday". I know that's what they call that Super Bowl thingy they had last month, but that wasn't my "Super Sunday". The night our worlds collided was MY "Super Sunday"! I have always loved Raven. But now I REALLY love Raven.

You know how beneath the surface of a dormant volcano, there is hot lava just bubbling, waiting for the opportunity to explode into the atmosphere and melt everything in sight? Well, my lava is flowin'! Woooo! I cannot get enough of her. I've got it bad. I tell myself that I am going to behave when we're studying or watching TV or eating. But I have to do something to her. If it's not a nibble or a caress, then it's a stroke of the hair or a playful hit. I have this compulsive need to touch her.

She has touching problems too! I seem to always have something stuck to the seat of my pants lately. Or I sat in something. Or I got crumbs on my sweater. Well, of course anyone would, when they accidentally/purposely sprinkle crackers on themselves! My favorite is that I have something in my eye! I think that one has worked about three times! We actually had to institute a two-hour no-touch rule yesterday. No touching for two hours from the time we get back from our last class of the day so that we can some studying done. We'll how long that lasts.

I want to do something special for her for our one-month anniversary. Naughty or nice? Or maybe naughty and nice! She does have some payback coming for Crazy In Love, volume two. I've got an idea…

On a typical Thursday for Raven, after her biology lab ended at 1, she went to her part-time job in the administrative offices of The Gap, located downtown. That wasn't necessarily where she wanted to begin her career in fashion design, however, being eager to get her foot in the door, she saw it as an opportunity she couldn't afford to pass up.

She worked from 2 to 6, three days a week. Not many hours, but enough to keep the car gassed up and make minor purchases at the mall. She would get home around 7, eat the dining hall meal that Chelsea picked up for her, study for a couple of hours, then go to bed.

This Thursday started out like any other. Bio lab, traffic, work, traffic, then back home. This is where the day deviated from the norm.

Raven pulled into the parking lot in the general area she always parked. She always glanced at Chelsea's car to make sure it was all right. When she did this time, it was no where to be found. She looked all over the lot. Chelsea's car is not there. _"Strange." _Raven thought. She's usually home on Thursdays. _"Maybe she had to pick up something from the store."_

Raven continued on to her building. When she got off the elevator on her floor, she was greeted by Gina and her friend Katie.

"Hey, Raven. How was work?" Gina inquired with her usual chirpy sweetness.

"Work was fine. Traffic, not so much." Raven replied with tiredness in her eyes. She looked forward to a hot shower and a warm bed.

"Chelsea wanted me to tell you that she had to run an errand and she'll be back in a little while." Gina eagerly announced, always willing to spread information.

"Ok. Thanks Gina. I'm going to bed early so you think you could lower the volume on Jay-Z tonight?"

"No problem. I got a brand-new set of headphones. You could stand right behind me and not hear a thing! They're awesome!"

"That's great, G. So… uh… Chels didn't say where she was headed?"

"Nope. She just said she'd be back later. What, you two have a hot date tonight?" Gina innocently joked.

Raven felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. "What's that supposed to mean?" Raven now mildly defensive.

Gina chuckled nervously, "Nothing. It was just a joke." She did a quick verbal backpedal, reminding herself of Raven's height and reach advantage.

Raven, immediately realizing that her defensiveness could set off alarm bells in Junior Miss Katie Couric's head, softened her demeanor. "Sorry, I get a little snippy when I'm tired. I'll see you later." Raven left the two friends standing by the elevator.

"Bye, Rae." The friends said in unison. Gina watched Raven walk out of earshot. "Katie, something is going on with those two. They've been acting weird lately."

"You did say they've been best friends since elementary school. Friends act strange sometimes." Katie reasoned.

"Yeah, but did you see how defensive she got when I cracked that joke about the date? There's a story there somewhere." The investigative journalist inside Gina was alive and ready for a scoop.

"Whoa! Slow down, Barbara Walnuts." Katie joked. "She said that she was tired and obviously irritable. And you can crack some corny jokes. I think your scrunchy is on too tight."

"C'mon, let's get ready. The guys said they're picking us up at 9. We've got to get ready."

"Yeah, maybe you're right. C'mon." Gina said as she publicly backed off. Inside however, she wondered if there was another side to this story not visible to the naked eye.

As Raven continued down the hall to her room, she couldn't help but think about Gina's joke. _"She doesn't know anything Rae. You might have said the same thing to her if the roles were reversed. Why did you snap at her like that?" _Raven decided she needed a self-help pep talk. "Get a grip, Baxter. You're tired and need some rest."

Raven entered her room to find the room illuminated only by her desk lamp. The focus of the gooseneck lamp's beam was fixed on a single manila envelope. As she came closer to the envelope, she was greeted by a sweet strawberry scent. She recognized the beautiful calligraphy-like handwriting that belonged to Chelsea. The envelope simply said, "Raven". She opened the envelope to find several sheets of paper stapled together, the top sheet handwritten on pink paper.

(Handwritten Note)

_Happy Anniversary Peaches! Can you believe it? Our one-month anniversary just passed. This last month has been amazing beyond my wildest dreams. In case I haven't said it, thank you for caring about me, loving me and making me feel like the most special human being on this planet_. _Words don't come close to expressing how I feel about you, about us at this moment. Cloud nine isn't high enough. I am on cloud twelve! I got you something to celebrate, but I can't give it to you there. _

_Behind this note is a set of Mapquest directions. Follow them. Your gift is located at the destination. I know you'll love it. I'll see you when you get there. _

_I Love You,_

_Strawberry_

_P.S. – Stay away from your closet. No special outfit necessary. Come as you are._

All the stresses of the day melted away as she read the note. The now ever-present Cheshire cat grin returned to Raven's lips as she absorbed the note's final words. She loved presents. She loved surprises. Her mind raced as she tried to figure out what Chelsea had gotten her. Chelsea had been full of surprises over the last month and had managed to stay a step ahead of her. This was no different. Raven decided that she needed to get to wherever Chelsea was.

With envelope in hand, she retraced her steps down the hall to the elevator. As she waited for the elevator, she bounced on her toes in anticipation of the unknown. It was then that she felt a familiar pull. She was having a vision.

**(VISION)**

_**She seated in a room. Complete darkness surrounds her. She hears music. As she focuses, the song becomes recognizable.**_

_**Song**_

…_**I got secrets can't leave Cancun**_

_**So take it off like your home alone**_

_**You know dance in front your mirror while your on the phone**_

_**Checkin your reflection and tellin your best friend, **_

_**like "girl I think my butt getting' big!"**_

_**Raven smiling: I'm definitely not in Kansas anymore.**_

**(END OF VISION)**

Raven comes out of her vision, with a smile on her face believing she knows what her gift might be. She is still lost in her thoughts when the elevator doors open.

"…ven!"

"Earth to Raven!" Raven refocuses from her haze to see Gina and Katie standing in the elevator.

"Are you going down or what?" Gina asks in an irritated tone.

"_Geez, is there anyone else in this frickin' dorm besides these two?" _Raven thought to herself.

"Sorry. Yeah, I'm going down."

Raven was deep in thought, completely oblivious to the two chatterboxes to her right. She was thinking about her vision. _"I'm sitting in a dark room, can't see a thing. I hear Nelly, and then I say 'I'm definitely not in Kansas anymore.'_" As she talked to her friend, Gina glanced at Raven, wondering what was going on with her. Gina had a nagging feeling that something juicy was being concealed from her. It was then that she noticed the envelope. She couldn't see much. Raven had it in her left hand. Gina saw that it was a large manila envelope. She also noticed a pink sheet of paper on top. She smelled strawberries. Gina couldn't resist the temptation.

"Looks like I'm clairvoyant. Who's the mystery man, Rae?"

Gina had shown Raven the final straw.

Raven felt the slow, intense burn of building rage in her chest as well as her jaw beginning to tighten. She began her reply in an ominously calm tone. "Regina, I like you. I really do." Gina's spine stiffened with the beginning of Raven's response. Only Gina's mother uses her given name. "I have been a little short with you lately, and I am sorry for that. I want to say something to you and I don't want you to take anything from it but what I sincerely intend to convey."

"You are tap dancing on my last motherfucking nerve." Raven's tone remained low, calm methodical and unwavering. "You mean well, I think, but you are nosy as hell and I am about a half a second away from punching you dead in your face." Gina and Katie were frozen in fear for their lives. "So I suggest that when these doors open, you forget about me, my mystery man and whatever else it is your mind is conjuring up about me." Raven was ready to deliver the go-home line. "Because the next time you and I have THIS conversation, you are going to become intimately introduced to the business end of my Via Spigas. Am I clear?" There was dead silence in the elevator as the bell chimed, signaling the car's arrival at the first floor.

"I take your silence to mean that I am." Raven started off the elevator when she offered a helpful tip. " And Katie, you might want to clean your girl up. I think she soiled herself."

Raven never looked back as the elevator doors closed. With Gina vanquished, envelope in hand and the smell of strawberries permeating her nostrils, Rae was ready. Her Strawberry was waiting.

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**Chapter 12 is next! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	12. Chasing the Clouds Away

**DISCLAIMER: ****Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Warren-Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

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**Thunderstorms**

_**Chapter 12**_

**Chasing the Clouds Away**

Raven hopped in her car and took off into the cool March night. She didn't know where she was going. She just knew that when she got there, Chelsea would be waiting. The anticipation was driving her insane. That is exactly what Chelsea had banked on. Raven was following her directions perfectly. The paper said that her trip was 35 miles and would take about 29 minutes, assuming the person following the directions traveled the federally mandated speed limit of 55 miles per hour. Since Raven was doing about 70, she arrived at her destination in about 22 minutes flat.

She pulled onto the road and looked for the address. She was in the middle of mid-rise office park development just east of Oakland. "Ok. Sixty-four nineteen, sixty-four twenty-one… here. Sixty-four twenty-three." Raven shook her head with a smirk. She was pulling up in front of an Embassy Suites. "How can she afford this?" Raven wondered aloud as she pulled into the parking lot.

Raven loved Embassy Suites. She loved the openness of the building. Every room overlooked the main level. Swans swim in their own makeshift pond. Every room has a separate living room and bedroom area. They even have a complimentary breakfast buffet. She quickly erased that thought. She hadn't eaten dinner yet.

As she made her way into the lobby, she didn't know what to expect. She had no clue as to what to do next. She was about to walk over to the reception desk to ask for Chelsea when her cell phone chirped. It was a text message from Chelsea. _**"Room 622." **_Raven's head quickly shot skyward scanning the sixth floor. She felt her heart begin to beat a little faster. Chelsea saw her walk in. It was exciting to know that she was being watched.

Raven went to the elevator and ascended to the sixth floor. She began walking toward the room when her cell phone chirped again. _**"Stop at the door. Wait for instructions."**_

Her temperature began climbing. She was in the middle of an erotic thriller. She came to the threshold of room 622. The curtains were open, but all the lights were out. She could see no movement inside the room. Ten seconds went by with no sound. _"My God, where are you?" _Raven thought as her eyes searched through the darkness for an answer. In the silence of the moment, Raven's cell phone chirped once more. _**"Turn around." **_

As she began to turn, Raven thought Chelsea was standing behind her. There was a whimper of disappointment when she completed her turn only to find that she was staring across the expanse of the hotel. The rhythm of her heart began to slow when she heard a voice behind her, close enough that she felt the person's breath on the back of her neck.

"Don't move… Don't make a sound." The voice. Strawberry. _"How did she do that? I didn't even hear the door open. I guess she can startle me after all." _Raven stood frozen, her heart began thumping harder than before, not having a clue as to what was coming next. She thought that it couldn't be that bad. She was standing the middle of the hallway in a hotel. She heard Chelsea greet the couple three doors down with a "Good Evening" as they departed their room. Seconds later, darkness.

She recognized the feel of the material that was now covering her eyes. Silk. _"It must be a silk scarf." _She surmised as she felt herself being turned 180 degrees. She was now operating solely on sound and touch now. She heard the key card slide into the reader. The automatic lock beeped, signaling success. The door was opening as she was being led by the arm into the room.

"Have a seat." Chelsea's voice was icy yet alluring. Raven did as she was told. More silence. Chelsea must be moving around like a cat. Raven could not for the life of her hear Chelsea moving. Raven was suddenly startled by the sound of rattling steel.

"I wish I could trust you not to remove your blindfold, but I can't." Those words were followed by the unmistakable sound of a set of handcuffs opening. The cuffs were now being attached. First Raven's left wrist, then to the chair. _"This is not turning me on." _Raven thinks to herself. More rattling. A second pair was now being attached to her right wrist, then the right side of the chair. _"Ok, maybe it's turning me on a little!" _She was now completely at the mercy of the woman that is stealthily moving around her.

"Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back." Chelsea whispered into Raven's ear sending chills up and down her spine. Her head was spinning. This was the single sexiest thing that she had ever been a part of. Every part of her body was on full alert awaiting Chelsea's return. Nervous anticipation was surging through her. Her mind began to wonder what Chelsea looked like. _Was she naked? Did she make a trip to Victoria's Secret? Frederick's? Handcuffs. Is she dressed like a dominatrix? Leather bustier and thigh high boots? What? What?_

After a few minutes, she once again felt warm breath on her ear. "You know, I thought about what "gift" that I could give you that would be fitting for a woman such as you."

"I thought about…" Raven then felt her ear being lightly nibbled followed by her bottom lip being slowly, gently bitten. She gasped. "… just bringing you in here and having my way with you." Raven let out a long breath, feeling herself quiver as she exhaled.

"Then… Raven heard a mechanical sound, followed by music that was increasing in volume. _Must be a CD boom box._ "… I thought…."

_**(Nelly's Hot In Herre)**_

_**I see you drivin, sportscar, ain't hittin the throttle  
And I be down, and do a hundred, top down and goggles  
Get off the freeway, exit 106 and parked it  
Ash tray, flip gate, time to spark it  
Gucci collar for dollar, got out and walked it  
I spit game cuz baby I cant talk it**_

_This is my vision… _Raven realized as felt a warm soft body grinding on her. _My god! She is giving me a lap dance! _Raven was trying to figure out based on the feel of her what Chelsea had on. Sexy bra and panties was her best guess. Her guess was right. A red lace strapless push-up bra with a matching g-string and four-inch heels that strapped halfway up her calf. Chelsea's impressively proportioned assets were on display. Chelsea knew Raven couldn't see her, but she imagined what her expression would be if she did.

_**Warm, sweatin its hot up in this joint  
VOKAL tank top, all on at this point  
Your with a winner so baby you cant loose  
I got secrets cant leave Cancun  
So take it off like your home alone  
You know dance in front your mirror while your on the phone  
Checkin your reflection and tellin your best friend,  
like "girl I think my butt gettin big"**_

Chelsea was now sitting in Raven's lap, gyrating to the music, leaning back into Raven's ear. "I thought… maybe…" Chelsea breathlessly said. "… you would enjoy this."

"I'm definitely not in Kansas anymore." Raven said with a smile, completing her vision.

She felt Chelsea slid off of her.

_**Its gettin hot in here (so hot)  
So take off all your clothes**_

_**I am gettin so hot, I wanna take my clothes off**_

**Music stops**

Chelsea sidled back up to Raven's ear. "But I decided, that wasn't quite what I was looking for either." She told Raven as she patted herself down with a hand towel. "So what's a girl to do?"

Raven's breath was ragged, chest visibly heaving. "What you were doing just now was fine." Raven managed to choke out as she tried to catch her breath.

"Maybe some other time. No, for you, I've got something special." Chelsea said with a sinister yet still sexy tone.

Another period of silence. The fear and anticipation of the unknown is where the thrill is. Every minute Raven is made to wait on Chelsea's next move pulls her deeper and deeper into the game. Several minutes passed by. _"What is she up to?" _Raven couldn't escape now if she tried. Not that she wanted to anyway.

Time for another visit from Chelsea. "Are you ready for your special anniversary gift?" Chelsea again whispered into Raven's ear giving it a slight nibble as she pulled away.

"Yes." Raven's heart was racing. _"What is she going to do? Do it already! NOW!" _Her mind screamed.

Raven heard the mechanical sound once again. A CD was being placed in the player. A musical introduction. It was a slow melody. And then it happened…

Chelsea begins to sing.

_**Song **_

_**Be hold the way our fine feathered friend  
His virtue doth parade  
Thou knowest not my dim witted friend "Oh, my God, Chelsea!" Raven was stunned by what she was hearing.  
The picture Thou hast made  
Thy vacant brow and Thy tousled hair  
Conceal Thy good intent  
Thou noble upright, truthful, sincere  
And slightly dopey gent **_

_**My funny valentine  
Sweet comic valentine  
You make me smile with my heart  
Your looks are laughable  
Unphotographable  
Yet you're my favorite work of art. **_

It was Raven's favorite love song. It was common knowledge among family and friends that if you wanted to silence Raven, all you would need to do is play this song. She felt tears begin to well up underneath the blindfold. She knew Chelsea could sing. She had heard her in musicals and plays before. But this was the first time Chelsea would sing to her, and only her. And for Chelsea to pick this one, just melted her heart. Raven heard this angelic voice float around behind her as Chelsea undid her blindfold.

_**Is your figure less than Greek  
Is your mouth a little weak  
When you open it to speak  
Are you smart? **_

It took Raven a moment to adjust her eyes to the light. But when she did, she beheld the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

_**But don't change a hair for me  
Not if you care for me  
Stay little valentine stay  
Each day is valentines day**_

Standing before her was a singer straight out of the 1950's. Chelsea wore a full-length red sequined strap back gown with long red satin gloves. Her auburn hair styled with sweeping curls and volume reminiscent of the days of Marilyn Monroe. Her flawless makeup, deep crimson lips, dark defined brows, long flowing lashes, came straight out of the Golden Age of Hollywood. For all the costumes, outfits and disguises that Raven had donned over the years, Chelsea's topped them all.

She belted out this song as if she were on Broadway. It was the performance of a lifetime.

_**My funny valentine  
Sweet comic valentine  
You make me smile with my heart  
Your looks are laughable  
Unphotographable  
Yet you're my favorite work of art.**_

Raven watched with tears streaming down her face as she watched her favorite girl sing her favorite song. Chelsea knew what she was doing when she handcuffed Raven to the chair. If Raven hadn't been, Chelsea was sure she wouldn't have finished the song.

_**Is your figure less than Greek  
Is your mouth a little weak  
When you open it to speak  
Are you smart? **_

_**But don't you change one hair for me  
Not if you care for me  
Stay little valentine stay  
Each day is Valentines Day**_

"Happy Anniversary Rae. I love you." Chelsea put the exclamation point on her ballad as a single tear fell from her eyes. She walked over to Raven and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.

"I love you, too." Said Raven with her heart full and tears still flowing.

Chelsea wiped Raven's tears away and was about to speak when Raven cut her off.

"Umm, Chels…" Raven began slowly, then started shaking her wrists, making the handcuffs rattle. "Could you take these dang things off me so I can give you a hug?"

"If I take them off, do you promise not to behave yourself?" Chelsea asked hopefully.

"Only if you promise to turn Nelly back on and this time leave the blindfold off." Raven presented her counteroffer with a grin.

"I tell you what…" Chelsea answered as she walked over to the boom box and changed CD's again. For the second time that evening, Nelly's summer of 2003 hit filled the room. "I'll give you Nelly and the blindfold. But the cuffs stay on."

_**...Flirtatious, tryin to show faces  
Lookin for the right time to shoot my steam (you know)  
Lookin for the right time to flash them G's...**_

_**

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**Chapter 12 is now behind us. What did you think about Chelsea's gift? Is that all she has for Raven? When are the handcuffs coming off? And what will Raven do when they do? Those questions and more answered as Chapter 13 comes up… next.**


	13. Warn Summer Rain

**DISCLAIMER: ****Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Warren-Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Previously in Thunderstorms – Chapter 12 – Chasing the Clouds Away **

"_**Umm, Chels…" Raven began slowly, as she started shaking her wrists, making the handcuffs rattle. "Could you take these dang things off me so I can give you a hug?"**_

"_**If I take them off, do you promise not to behave yourself?" Chelsea asked hopefully.**_

"_**Only if you promise to turn Nelly back on and this time leave the blindfold off." Raven presented her counteroffer with a grin.**_

"_**I tell you what…" Chelsea answered as she walked over to the boom box and changed CD's again. For the second time that evening, Nelly's summer of 2003 hit filled the room. "I'll give you Nelly and the blindfold. But the cuffs stay on."**_

…_**Flirtatious, tryin' to show faces **_

_**Lookin' for the right time to shoot my steam (you know) **_

_**Lookin' for the right time to flash them G's…**_

_**

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**_

**Thunderstorms**

_**Chapter 13**_

**Warm Summer Rain**

"Wait a minute, Chels. Stop the music." Raven asked in a serious tone.

Chelsea had a look of confusion on her face due to Raven's sudden change of attitude.

"What's wrong, Rae?"

"Can you un-cuff me please?" Raven softly asked. Chelsea slowly walked over to her with the keys and did as she was asked.

"Rae, did I do something wrong?" Chelsea inquired with a look of worry now spreading across her face.

Raven looked around the room in amazement then locked her gaze on the auburn-haired bombshell. The magnitude of everything suddenly hit her; the hotel, the erotic thrill, the poignancy of the song, the love that Chelsea has in her heart for her. Chelsea had yet again overwhelmed her.

"You did all this for me." Raven began. "I-I don't know what to say… I…"

"You don't have to say anything. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat." Chelsea reassured Raven.

Chelsea stood perfectly still, watching Raven's eyes intently, her mother's words echoing in her head. _"The eyes and the pit of your stomach never lie, Chelsea. Raw emotion starts in the pit of your stomach. It'll feel like the wind got knocked out of you. Like a fire ignited there. It works its way to your heart and it's reflected in your eyes. Your eyes are the windows to your soul… Then everything gets warm, true love warms you, wraps around you like a blanket, and keeps you warm and safe." _Chelsea felt her stomach begin to churn as she locked eyes with Raven. She felt a warmth rise within her that was more than a lustful heat. That type of heat made her heart race. This heat was warm and soothing to her.

"This was beautiful." Raven said with that warm smile that melted Chelsea's heart. "You're beautiful. Stunning actually. Where did you get…" Raven shakes her head. "Never mind… that's not important right now."

"You're my funny valentine. In a way you always have been. I couldn't imagine doing this for anyone else." Chelsea replied.

"I couldn't imagine being here with anyone else." Although Raven's mouth uttered the words, her eyes delivered the meaning. "How can I ever thank you for this?"

Chelsea walked back over to the CD player and changed CD's yet again. A musical intro begins.

Chelsea's thank you request was simple. "Dance with me."

_**Unforgettable by Nat King Cole featuring Natalie Cole **_

_**Nat: Unforgettable, that's what you are.  
Natalie: Unforgettable, though near or far.  
Nat: Like a song of love that clings to me,  
How the thought of you does things to me,  
Never before has someone been more.**_

Raven placed her arms around Chelsea's neck as Chelsea encircled Raven's waist and pulled her close. Their eyes never break contact. They were transfixed on one another. The rest of the world faded away.

_**Natalie: Unforgettable, in every way.  
Nat: And forever more Natalie: (and forever more)  
Nat: That's how you'll stay Natalie: (that's how you'll stay) **_

_**Both: That's why darling it's incredible,  
That someone so unforgettable,  
Thinks that I am unforgettable too. **_

_**Saxophone and piano interlude**_

"What are you doing to me?" Raven asks.

"Hopefully, the same thing that you're doing to me." Chelsea replies as she playfully rubs noses with Raven, Eskimo-style.

"Which is?"

"Making me fall deeper in love with you." Chelsea follows her answer with a slow, lingering kiss.

_**Natalie: No never before, has someone been more **_

_**Natalie: Unforgettable Nat(unforgettable), Natalie: in every way Nat(in every way).  
Natalie: And forever more Nat: (and forever more)  
Natalie: That's how you'll stay Nat: (that's how you'll stay) **_

_**Both: That's why darling it's incredible,  
That someone so unforgettable,  
Thinks that I am unforgettable too.**_

As the song comes to an end, Raven reaches behind Chelsea and slowly stars to unzip her gown.

"Aren't you being a bit presumptuous?" Chelsea asked with her soon-to-be legendary raised eyebrow.

"Probably." Raven said with a look sly seductiveness, raising an eyebrow of her own.

"What if I said no?" Chelsea's alter ego, Strawberry, surfaces complete with her seductive voice.

"Do you know what playing hard-to-get will get you?" Raven throws down the gauntlet.

"Why do you think I would say no?" Chelsea made sure that she emphasized the "t-h" in think, showing Raven the tip of her tongue as she slowly said the word.

Raven and Chelsea were still in each other's embrace. Both of them saw this back and forth as verbal foreplay. On the surface, they were trying to play it cool. Inside, they were like barbarians standing at the gates of Rome, ready to devour and conquer anything in their paths. But tonight wasn't about that. This was different than their first time when their passion seemingly came out of nowhere and overtook them. No, this was something that they could see, hear, feel coming. They didn't want to miss one syllable, one heartbeat, one touch, one caress. Every emotion, every feeling that could be experienced would be. It would be savored like fine wine.

Raven lips are mere millimeters away from Chelsea's. "That was a what-if question. I don't think you would say no to me." She dared Chelsea. Chelsea shuddered. "I don't think you CAN say no to me." Raven drew that last sentence out torturing Chelsea's senses. Raven had been on pins and needles all night. She wanted to put Chelsea on the ropes for a minute. Chelsea's mind began to work.

"_How did she flip the script on me so quick. I've been seducing her all night and now she's got me. Oh, man! C'mon, re-group, girl! You can play this game. You've seen it on TV hundreds of times. Quick, what would Samantha on Sex in the City do?"_

Chelsea is still nearly lip-to-lip with Raven. "So what to do want to do, huh, Rae?" Her voice sexy and confident. " Do you want to **fuck** me?" Chelsea put hard emphasis on the f-word. Both of their eyes widened and darkened at the thought. Their arousal instantly spiked with Chelsea's harsh inquiry, yet it took them both by surprise. Neither one of them realized Chelsea had that in her. They both had the same thought. _"Whoa, where did that come from?"_

Visibly unshaken, Raven comes back. "No. See I'm the opposite of 50 Cent. I'm in to makin' love not havin' sex." Raven punctuates her statement by kissing Chelsea's bottom lip. This caused Chelsea to visibly swallow hard. She started this banter with Raven. She decided she was going to end it on her terms.

"Baxter, anybody ever tell you that you talk too much?" Chelsea was hoping Raven would take the bait.

"Well, Daniels, if I talk so much, why don't you shut me up?" Raven replied with all the cockiness she could muster as her hazel eyes darted from Chelsea's eyes to her lips and back up.

Hook, line and sinker. Chelsea reeled her in. She answered Raven's challenge by simultaneously kissing Raven with slow but meaningful passion and cupping her bottom. This took Raven completely by surprised as she gasped into Chelsea's mouth. Raven was lost in Chelsea's kiss. The tiredness of the day, the traffic, the run-in with Gina, they were all swept away by her strawberry goddess.

Chelsea broke away from the kiss long enough to slowly pull off her gloves. Raven took a step forward to re-engage her when Chelsea put up her index finger halting Raven in her tracks. Chelsea turned her back to Raven and slowly unzipped her gown. Raven unconsciously licked her lips as her eyes followed Chelsea's fingers and the zipper on their descent, stopping just above the curve of Chelsea's backside. Chelsea looked over her shoulder at Raven as she let the gown fall to the floor, allowing Raven the view that she only imagined while she was blindfolded.

Raven knew what few people that knew Chelsea did. Underneath the sweaters and t-shirts, Chelsea had an incredible body. It still amazed Raven how she manages to hide her curves as well as she does. Every once and a while, you would glimpse a curve here, a full breast there, but the outfit that Chelsea had on here would make anyone appreciate what she was working with. Raven didn't know what excited her more, the g-string showing off the finest butt Raven had see since she looked in the mirror or the four-inch strap-up-the-leg heels that accentuated killer legs and that wicked backside.

Chelsea turned to face Raven and completed the show. The red lace push-up bra that was being displayed required no artificial enhancement. Chelsea did an excellent job filling it out on her own. Raven's eyes trailed down the perfectly flat expanse of smooth skin that was Chelsea's stomach, continuing to the floor and back up. Chelsea tossed her head to one side, allowing her hair to sweep onto one shoulder. Raven's mouth dropped open slightly.

"Well…" Chelsea knew she had the goods. "…Was it worth the wait?"

Closing the distance between them like a cheetah, Raven could restrain herself no longer. She threw her arms around Chelsea's waist and kissed Chelsea with intense, deliberate passion. Part of her wanted to take her swiftly but she was determined slow love was the thing for them this evening.

Still kissing Chelsea, Raven backed herself up until she was sitting in the same chair in the middle of the living room that she was earlier held captive. She pulled Chelsea on top of her, the redhead now straddling her. Raven grabbed Chelsea by the bottom with both hands and pulled her even closer. Chelsea began to buck her hips back and forth as Raven squeezed her.

Chelsea broke the kiss, sitting up straight. Raven swept the hair from Chelsea's face as Chelsea reached around and un-hooked her bra, tossing it to the side. She leans in to kiss Raven again, as she begins to unbutton Raven's white cotton blouse. She discards the blouse and begins to reach around to undo her bra.

"Uh-uh." Raven stops her. "Right here." Raven brings Chelsea's hands around to the front of her bra where her clasp is located. Chelsea removes Raven's bra then continues to kiss the dark-haired beauty. Raven presses her hot skin against Chelsea's fusing their bodies together.

Raven runs her hands gently through Chelsea's hair then gently tugging, pulling her head back. Raven takes this opportunity to drag across the nape of Chelsea's neck, knowing that this drives Chelsea wild. Raven locks her fingers behind the small of Chelsea's back as Chelsea leaned back further, pushing her breasts upward. Raven pulls Chelsea back toward her and takes one of Chelsea's nipples into her mouth, alternating between sucking and nipping with her teeth. After several moments, she switches and does the same with Chelsea's other nipple.

Chelsea uprights herself again and climbs off of Raven's lap. She takes Raven by the hand and leads her into the bedroom. Raven lies down on her back and lifts her hips as Chelsea removes her skirt and then underwear. Chelsea then lay on top of Raven and slowly, methodically kisses her way down Raven's body. She takes one of Raven's already hardening nipples into her mouth, rolling the other between her thumb and index finger, swirling her tongue as Raven throws her head back moaning in pleasure.

She continues kissing her way down to Raven's navel; lingering there knowing Raven was anticipating her going down further, purposely trying to bring a rise out of her lover. "Don't stop, please." Raven pleaded. Chelsea continued downward, kissing the inside of Raven's thighs. Chelsea was intoxicated by the feel of Raven's baby-soft skin on her lips and found herself just as eager to reach her destination as Raven was.

As she felt Chelsea moving toward her, Raven lifted her pelvis up to meet her. Chelsea kissed her causing Raven to cry out. Chelsea began to slowly stroke Raven with her tongue. "Oh… yes… Uhh." Raven reacted with every stroke. She began running her hands over her body as Chelsea continued. "Make love to me, Chelsea." After several more moments, Chelsea slid back up and positioned herself on top and to the side of Raven, kissing her. "Ummm." Raven moaned, as she tasted herself on Chelsea's lips.

Chelsea then began stroking Raven with her finger, again making Raven cry out. Raven's volume increased as Chelsea slipped her finger inside. She stroked Raven curling her fingers, every curl bringing Raven that much closer to the edge. Just as Raven thought she couldn't take much more, "OH SHIT… YESSS!" Raven screamed as Chelsea slipped a second finger inside.

The scream set a charge off inside Chelsea as she pulled herself up on her knees beside Raven and began pumping her fingers faster. Raven's temperature was reaching an all-time high. "YESSS!" She bellowed with every stroke of Chelsea's hand. Chelsea then began crossing her fingers inside sending Raven to a whole new level of pleasure. Raven arched her back, determined to feel every sensation Chelsea had to offer.

Chelsea knew Raven was close to her climax when Raven put her hands on top of Chelsea's pushing Chelsea's fingers deeper. Raven's screams began to catch in her throat as she started shuddering, her body freezing at the instant the beginning of her climax, then releasing a near ear-splitting final scream.

Raven's orgasm made Chelsea's body demand it's own release. Chelsea placed two fingers inside and began to pleasure herself. Raven's recovery was almost instantaneous when she saw this. She was very tempted to see Chelsea's efforts reach their conclusion, but she overruled herself… quickly.

"No, no sweetie. I haven't had my strawberries and cream yet." Raven said as she pulled Chelsea on top of her sliding down several inches until she was face-to-face with Chelsea's wetness. She hesitated for a second to allow the thought of what she was about to do sink into Chelsea's head. Chelsea looked down at Raven and for a second they locked eyes. Chelsea, on her knees straddling Raven's face, propped on foot on the bed causing her pelvis to lift slightly. Raven glanced at her do this and noticed something.

"You left the shoes on…" Raven purred in her own drop-your-drawers-for-me voice. The sight of Chelsea with nothing on but those sexy, strappy shoes ignited Raven's pilot light again. "…Very nice." Raven said before she pulled Chelsea toward her and took Chelsea into her mouth, sucking on her clit. After a moment or so, she began alternating sucking and flicking with her tongue. This feeling was more intense than the first time they had been together. Chelsea braced her hands on the headboard in front of her. Raven was now alternating the speed of her tongue. Every time she went faster, Chelsea lashed out at the headboard. "OH… FUCK!" Chelsea screamed at one point as she slapped the headboard with her hand.

"Ra…ven… If… you… keep… doing … that…" Chelsea sputtered out.

"Uh-huh." Raven responded with a slight chuckle, remembering what her mother told her about talking with her mouth full.

Raven was on a mission and she was not going to stop until Chelsea came. She was not going to switch positions. It was going to be right here, right now. She had slowed down for a moment and then began picking up her pace. "DAMNIT, RAE, YEAH!" Raven continued her pace when she decided Chelsea deserved something special for being so sweet.

Raven gently pushed Chelsea forward and slid her tongue inside. She heard Chelsea draw a long breath in to her lungs as she began pushing her tongue past the folds of Chelsea's labia. Chelsea began a series of high-pitched screams that coincided with every entry of Raven's tongue. Raven went faster as Chelsea, with one hand still firmly gripping the headboard, took the other hand and began fingering herself again. Raven found her hand had rediscovered herself as she fingered herself in rhythm with Chelsea.

As she heard Chelsea rapidly approaching climax, Raven was shocked to discover that she was near another one herself. They each felt their muscles contracting, their bodies searching for their inevitable release. Chelsea's orgasm was first… and second. As quickly as the first wave hit, a second wave nearly caused her to collapse on top of Raven. She managed swing her leg back over Raven's body and settle into a seated position on the bed just in time to witness Raven's second orgasm of the evening.

Their bodies began to relax, as Raven, still on her back, looked over at Chelsea, still sitting on the bed, her back against the headboard. Raven turned her head back to its original position, looked at the ceiling, and then closed her eyes.

"I wasn't expecting that second one." Raven said with sleep rapidly descending upon her.

"I know. I wasn't expecting my second one either." Chelsea replied with her head tilted back on the headboard, eyes closed.

Raven cracked one eye open and looked in Chelsea's direction with a frown, not realizing at the time that she had climaxed a second time.

"I hate you." Raven spit out with mock disdain. "You've still been keeping score. You just couldn't let a sista win just once." Raven said with a smirk.

Chelsea still had not moved from her spot, eyes still closed. "Well, if a sista wasn't so good at what she does to me, then maybe she would win once and a while."

"Good save, Daniels. Good save." Raven nodded her approval as she yawns.

"I learned from the best. Now go to sleep. Breakfast is at 7." Chelsea ordered as she slid down next to Raven.

"Happy Anniversary, Chels. I love you." Raven begins to nod off to sleep.

"Happy Anniversary, Rae. I love you too." "By the way, Rae… I'm still leading by two." Chelsea smiled as she rolled over onto her side facing away from Raven, believing Raven was asleep.

"I heard that… you… strawberry… trick." Raven drifted off to sleep with Chelsea still smiling next to her.

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**I want to thank all of you for you kind words of encouragement thus far. I had no idea that I would be 13 chapters into this story. Well guess what. Soon it'll be 14 chapters, cause we're not finished yet. I am glad that you have enjoyed it.**

**PLEASE REVIEW THIS CHAPTER. I WANT TO KNOW HOW YOU LIKED IT.**


	14. Friday Night at the Daniels

**DISCLAIMER: ****Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Warren-Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**

* * *

**

**Thunderstorms**

_**Chapter 14**_

**Friday Night at the Daniels**

This was a Friday in March like any other for Raven Baxter and Chelsea Daniels and yet, it was very different. In roughly an hour, they would be headed across the Golden Gate Bridge to spend a weekend at home. That in and of itself is not different. What is different is the two of them. This is their first trip home as a couple, except no one knows it but them.

Raven had already packed for the weekend before she went to class. As she walked back home, she couldn't help but to think about the weekend to come.

(Raven's POV)

I have never been nervous going home. Ok, there was the one time that Devon kept me out past curfew. And the time I got into that tiny accident in mom's car. But, I mean, I have never been nervous walking into that house knowing that I didn't do anything wrong. But I am wondering how "la familia" is going to take the news. I'm not even sure I am going to tell them yet. Not that I am ashamed, I'm just afraid of their reaction. I love my dad but the fact that it's my dad is freaking me out a little.

Ok, it's freaking me out a lot. We live in San Francisco and are exposed to same sex relationships on almost a daily basis. He has never said anything mean or derogatory, but I can tell that the subject still makes him a little uncomfortable. Now his daughter is coming to him and telling him that she is in a relationship with her best girlfriend. That has train wreck written all over it. I kind of wish Mom was here.

I'm not 100 percent sure what her initial reaction would be, but she always has something positive to say to me no matter what. I said I was going to call her when I got home, but how do you do that over the phone. "Umm, Mom, you know how when I told you that Chelsea asked about her goodnight kiss after our "date" and you said as a joke that you'd feel safer with me dating her 'cause she'd be a true "gentleman"? Well, Mom, Chelsea ain't a man and she ain't gentle!" Mom and I seem to always play the what-if game. What if this happens? What if that happens? Now that she's in England, we don't do that when I talk to her now. We've got too much other stuff to talk about.

But, at least I've got another 24 hours to deal with this. We're spending tonight and all day Saturday at Chelsea's. What's going through her mind? I mean, her parents are cool and all but...

Chelsea was back at the dorm finishing up her packing. She was going to be home soon. The last time she saw her parents, she was in bad shape. Her world was circling the drain. Now she is headed home with a bounce in her step she hasn't had since the first month of classes.

(Chelsea's POV)

I am excited and terrified at same time like riding a roller coaster. You know it's going to scare the crap out of you, but the thrill of the ride overwhelms you. I'm excited because I love being happy at home. I love my parents and our house and the love that's in it. But I am scared to death because my mother keeps asking me why I am so happy all of a sudden and I want to tell her but then again I don't.

I want to tell her that I have never felt more alive, happier, appreciated, loved and satisfied then I ever have. My best friend is my lover. My lover is my best friend. I want to tell her that as crappy as I felt a month ago, I feel that good now. No, not good; great! I want to tell my father that he doesn't have to worry about me being taken advantage of or just being used for sex or being strung along by some guy just playing the field. I am in a relationship with someone that I have a deep connection to and that knows me better than I know myself sometimes.

But, I can't help but think that they might get really angry and do God knows what. I've never seen my parents get really angry though. They are clinical therapists trained to deal with people's anger and I know they can deal with their own. Then again their daughter has never come home with her "girlfriend" before. That's what scares me but having Rae there with me will make me feel a lot better. I really love that girl. Speaking of that girl, I hope she gets back soon so we can get on the road.

Chelsea went into the bathroom to grab her toiletry bag when the door flew open.

"Hey, Lucy, I'm home!" Raven's latest impersonation is that of Ricky Ricardo.

"Hey, what's up pickles? Is everything kosher?" Chelsea came back into the room toiletry bag in hand and gave Raven quick peck on the lips on her way back to her duffel bag.

"What's up pickles, is everything kosher?" Raven asked with a look of ultimate confusion. "Where did you get that corny line from?"

Chelsea looks up at Raven chuckling. "Oh, a girl in my lab is from DC and she got that from a character off the radio back home."

"Pickles. Kosher. You need some serious help, you know that?" Raven joked.

Chelsea, always trying to push Raven's buttons, plops onto her bed on her back, propping herself up on her elbows. "Why don't you come help me then?"

"You don't want none of this. Not now. Anyway, you know we've got to get out of here. Do you want to spend two hours on the bridge?"

"You're no fun!" Chelsea answered with a wounded look on her face.

Raven's reply was quick and to the point. "You weren't saying that last night."

"Funny, Rae. That was a good one." Chelsea's ever improving comeback skills were on full display. "Just remember, Baxter, you're wearing a skirt and I'm wearing an evil grin. You do the math."

"Jesus, who are these people?" Raven said, quoting from one of her favorite comedies, Old School, frustrated that she had been verbally defeated again.

"C'mon, let's go." Chelsea said laughing as she grabbed her bag and walked past a still reeling Raven, patting her on the behind for good measure.

The trip home was just passing the one-hour, fifteen-minute mark when Chelsea awoke from her nap.

"Hey, sleepyhead." Raven called out to a still groggy Chelsea.

"How much longer we got?" Chelsea inquired, not yet tuned into her surroundings.

"Almost there."

"You nervous?" Raven probed.

"Yeah." Chelsea yawns. "You know my mother should have been a lawyer, with as many questions as she asks." Chelsea reminding herself.

"Look. I know that we said that we weren't going to come out and tell them yet, but if you get backed into a corner, don't lie. Just tell 'em. I'll be right there with you." Raven assured Chelsea.

"I know you will be. You know I'm there for you too, no matter what." Chelsea said with her trademark warm smile. "I wonder what Mom fixed for dinner. A veggie burger sure would hit the spot."

Raven contorts her face. "How do you eat that crap?" "It tastes like Styrofoam."

"You haven't had Joni Daniels' special veggie burger. Once she spices that thing up, you can't even tell it's not meat!" Chelsea tries her best to persuade Raven.

"I'll take your word for it." Raven rolls her eyes. "Alright. Home sweet home." Raven announces as she pulls into the Daniels' driveway.

Joni and Richard Daniels have always been a little protective of their daughter. Ever since she was a little girl she had always been so eager to embrace the brighter side of the world, plunging headlong into making the world a better place. She was so warm and giving. They wanted to make sure that she didn't get hurt in the process.

They loved Raven like their daughter too. For a while growing up, it seemed like Raven spent just as much time at their house as she did her own. Eddie was also like a son to them. As far as they were concerned, they had two daughters in school in San Fran and a son away in Philadelphia.

Tonight, their babies were coming home. Except they know their girls are growing up. They've seen the dates, the parties, the staying out late, the experimentation with drinking. The girls are teenagers moving into their early 20's and with that they have come to expect almost anything from them. But they loved them.

At the first sound of a slamming car door, Joni Daniels came bounding through the front door, capturing her daughter in a bear hug/chokehold that would have made Hulk Hogan proud.

"Welcome home, sweetie!" Chelsea's mom exclaimed.

"Hey, Mom." Chelsea stammered out as she gasped for air. "You saw me last month, remember?"

Chelsea's mother released her hug and grabbed Chelsea by the arms. "I saw somebody that looked like you, walked and talked like you but wasn't you." Her mother rattled on. "But THIS, is the Chelsea I know and love!" She once again threw her arms around Chelsea as Raven looked on smiling from several paces behind.

"Ravennnnnn!" Mrs. Daniels hugged Raven to within an inch of her life. Raven's face bulged in shocked disbelief. "Where have you been hiding? We missed you last month."

"I'm… here… now." Raven choking out her words inside Mrs. Daniels vice grip. "Good to see you Mrs. D."

"Come on. Put you things away. Dinner's almost ready. Tonight we're having veggie lasagna!" Mrs. Daniels announced as she yelled into the house. "Rich, honey, the girls are home!"

"Is your Mom on medication?" Raven whispered to Chelsea as they watched her mother go into the house.

"No." Chelsea responded as she started toward the door. "But after that display, she should be."

The dinner was full of laughter and storytelling. It was a feel good evening all around. It was just like any other trip home for the girls. Chelsea and Raven sat around for an hour or so with Chelsea's parents talking about everything from school to entertainment. Mr. Daniels held his own for a while, especially when the subject came around to Hollywood. He loved movies, old and some new. However, after a lengthy conversation about the Hollywood hunks of yesterday, today and tomorrow, he had decided enough was enough.

"Well ladies, as much as I would LOVE to compare Heath Ledger's butt to Jake Gyllenhall's, I think I'm going to sit this one out. I'll see y'all in the morning. Good night, ladies."

"Oh, come on Rich, remember how much you enjoyed Brokeback Mountain?" Mrs. Daniels teased her husband, collapsing on the sofa in hysterical laughter with the girls right behind her.

"So, Dad, that's where the cowboy hat came from." Chelsea chimed in setting off another round of laughter.

"Rich Daniels, Human Piñata. Ok. I get it. Again I say, good night, ladies."

The ladies teamed up for one more zinger.

**(Singing)**

**Goodnight ladies,  
Goodnight ladies,  
Goodnight ladies,  
We're going to leave us now!**

**(More laughing)**

"Bunch of drunks." Mr. Daniels mumbled as he shook his head with a smirk, walking up the stairs.

Joni Daniels had been watching her girls all evening. She remarked to herself how happy they were. The Chelsea that was sitting on the sofa next to her was completely different from the troubled young woman that she saw just a month earlier.

As a mother, she was just so happy to see that her baby was doing better. She loved to see Chelsea laugh and enjoy life. She secretly envied Chelsea for that. Joni Daniels ran saw her teenage years as simply a stumbling block, a pit stop to her adult dreams. She sometimes wishes that she had stopped to smell the roses every now and then.

As a therapist, she saw Chelsea's turnaround as sudden and complete, as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. After Chelsea went back to school, several days passed before she called. She was a little surprised at how all traces of her angst were gone. She also noticed that after weeks of barely mentioning Raven's name, every sentence dripped with her name or a reference to her or something she said. Still, she didn't think anything much of it at first, figuring one of them said something the other one didn't like, one of them overreacted and blah, blah, blah. Normally, she would eventually get the details of the genesis of their disagreement and how they patched things up. This time, however, she got nothing.

But as she watched them over the course of the evening, she noticed that they seemed closer. In her mind they were thick as thieves already and while them appearing closer didn't really make logical sense to her, there was still something about them that seemed more close-knit before. She just couldn't put her finger on it. And tonight, every one of Raven's jokes was outrageously funny to Chelsea. _"I mean, I only carried on like that after Rich and I..." _She mentally smacks herself for even thinking that. _"Joan Evelyn Daniels. You just mentally suggested that your daughter and Raven, her best friend, are giddy after having sex. What is wrong with you." _But at this point, her girls were speaking again, happy as larks and home, if only for the night.

"Hey, how about one of Joni Daniels' world famous smoothies." Mrs. Daniels tempted.

"That works for me." Raven piped up.

"Make it two, barkeep!" Chelsea seconded the motion.

"Great, I'll get 'em started." Mrs. Daniels took off for the kitchen.

"Well, so far so good!" Raven exclaimed in a whisper. "See, it wasn't as bad as we thought. We can do this."

"Yeah, but we still haven't told them yet." Chelsea worried about a false sense of security.

"I know, but at least there hasn't been any awkward looks or anything like that. As long as we act like our normal selves we won't be so nervous." Raven was putting on the hard sell. "Just relax, we'll be ok. Cool?"

"Cool." Chelsea replied with a relieved sigh. "How do you always manage to talk me off the ledge?"

Raven responded in typical Raven fashion. **(Singing in a whisper) **"Cause you are my lady, you're everything I need and more." They both started giggling under their breath and leaned in for a quick kiss.

Mrs. Daniels set up her smoothie maker and grabbed a bunch of fruit out of the refrigerator when she realized that she forgot to ask the girls what flavor of smoothie they wanted. She walked back to the threshold of the kitchen and living room, just in time to catch the stolen moment kiss.

She stood frozen for a moment, her mind trying to process what it just saw. She then eased back around the corner and leaned back on the refrigerator. The girls never saw her. She tilted her head back on the freezer door. "I'll be damned." She whispered to herself. "Chelsea and Raven?... Together?"


	15. Do You Believe In Miracles?

**DISCLAIMER: ****Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Warren-Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Author's Note: I just want to let you know before you start reading that this is the longest chapter that I have written so far. You won't fall asleep, I promise. But I just wanted to let you know before you get halfway through and wonder where the end is. This is a part of the story that I just couldn't break apart. I hope you endure and enjoy it. This one goes out to everyone that has read up to this point.**

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**Thunderstorms**

_**Chapter 15**_

**Do You Believe In Miracles?**

Chelsea broke away from Raven's kiss and noticed that she didn't hear any movement in the kitchen.

"Mom, is everything okay in there?" Chelsea called out.

Joni Daniels snapped out of her self-induced trance long enough to pick up the last part of the question. "Yeah… sweetie! Everything's… fine! What flavor smoothies do y'all want?"

Neither one of them thought about it or so much as looked at each other as they yelled out, "STRAWBERRY!" They laughed at each other, realizing their special connection with the word.

"Two strawberries coming up!" Mrs. Daniels said in the cheeriest voice she could muster although cheer was not the emotion that she had at the moment. She began mixing the ingredients for the smoothies but her mind was not on what she was doing. Just a couple of minutes earlier she saw her daughter kiss her best friend… not on the cheek… on the lips… with passion.

(Mrs. Daniels POV)

I definitely didn't expect THIS. Chelsea and Raven? Together? As a couple? Just breathe, Joni. Just breathe. I am a rational person and a trained therapist. I can work through this. Just think.

Chelsea was as down as I have ever seen her… for weeks. She wouldn't talk about anything with her father, Raven or me. She comes home for the weekend last month, still moping around then she goes back to school and by that Wednesday, it's 'O Happy Day' again. Something happened between those two. But what? And why? How?

(Raven and Chelsea are talking and laughing in the living room)

They sound really happy. I have always said that I wanted her to be happy and fall in love and enjoy being in love. (More laughing) I guess that is what she's doing. But when are they going to tell us? And Rich? I mean, one of his associates is gay and I know he doesn't have an issue with that, but this is Chelsea. And do they know what they are opening themselves up for?

(Chelsea is cracking jokes and Raven is laughing hysterically.)

Alright, Joni. You are going to approach this like an airplane pilot landing a plane. Circle the airport, and eventually the control tower will bring you in. Now, say it in your head once so you can get past the shock. "Chelsea and Raven are seeing each other romantically." Ok. That wasn't so hard. "Chelsea and Raven are seeing each other romantically." See you did it again. Now one time out loud so you can hear yourself.

"Chelsea and Raven…"

"Hey, Mom!"

"AAAAGH!" Chelsea's mother screamed not realizing Chelsea had walked up behind her.

"Mom, you alright?"

Her mother was still trying to catch her breath. "Y-Yeah. Yes. I-I'm fine. You… just startled me. That's all."

"Chelsea and Raven what? Chelsea asked.

"What?"

"When I walked up you said 'Chelsea and Raven' but you didn't finish."

"I was about to say… that… Chelsea and Raven are going to love these smoothies."

"Good. I came to see if you needed any help." Chelsea looked a little puzzled by her mother's behavior but she chalked it up to her mother being a little goofy at times.

"No. I'm fine here. Go entertain Raven. I'll be in, in a sec." Her mother replied.

Mrs. Daniels finished up in the kitchen and brought in three tall, frothy strawberry smoothies with whipped cream on top. She sat the tray on the table and sat in the armchair near the end of the sofa.

"Whipped cream! Go 'head, Mrs. D! I like your style!" Raven confirming her approval.

"Looks so good!" Chelsea exclaimed as she took a sip, leaving whipped cream on the end of her nose.

"Umm… Chels." Raven looked at Chelsea and thumbed her nose, trying to indicate to Chelsea that she has something on it.

Chelsea started to speak again when Raven interrupted.

"Chels, you got…some…whipped… Here." Raven realizing that Chelsea needed some help, wiped the whipped cream off the tip of Chelsea's nose with her thumb. Chelsea smiled. "Thanks."

Chelsea's mother did a mental double take. She was now looking at their contact in a completely different context now. She was ready to begin her approach into RavenChelsea International Airport.

"So just what was so funny in here earlier?" She began.

"Oh, Mrs. D, we were just cracking jokes and strolling down memory lane." Raven answered.

"Mom, thanks again for dinner. The veggie lasagna was great." Chelsea's mother smiled, remembering what an appreciative child she has.

"Yeah, Mrs. D, I have to admit, it was alright for not having any meat in it." Raven echoing Chelsea's review of dinner.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Mrs. Daniels said to both of them.

"It's good to have you two home, even if it's for a night."

"It's good to be here." Chelsea said smiling.

"I just want to let you know that over the last couple of weeks I wasn't trying to get on your nerves with all the questions. I was just worried about you." Mrs. Daniels pointing her gaze at Chelsea.

"I know you were trying to help Mom. And I appreciate it. I just had some… issues I had to work through." Chelsea answered as she shot a quick glance at Raven who was sitting next to Chelsea, closest to her mother.

"Well I'm glad you worked through them and came out happy on the other side. And Rae, whatever hand you had in helping my daughter through this, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart." Her mother continued.

"Anytime Mrs. D…"

" Call me Joni. You're old enough and been around long enough. You've earned it."

Chelsea shot Raven a "WTF" look which Raven mirrored. Raven turned her attention back to Chelsea's mother. "Ok… Joni. Anytime. Raven turned slightly and patted Chelsea's knee. "This is my girl, my homie, my ace…my…!"

"I think she gets the point, Rae." Chelsea chastised.

"Now, sweetie, don't get on her like that. She really loves you." The last part of that sentence hung in the air for a moment. All three of them mentally blinked when it was said.

"Just do me a favor, Raven." Joni said as she slid forward in her chair and took Raven by the hand.

"Sure… Joni. Anything." Raven was still getting used to calling Chelsea's mother by her first name.

"Just make sure you take care of my little girl. She's all I've got and I like seeing her happy."

Raven smiled at the thought that Joni thought that much of her to ask her to watch over Chelsea for her. Raven glanced back at Chelsea. At that same moment, Chelsea's eyes widened and glazed over. If Raven didn't know better, she would have thought that Chelsea was having a vision. Raven was about to call her name when she spoke.

"You know. Don't you?" Chelsea's eyes were still gazing into space. Chelsea knew her mother well. She had been in this position before. Chelsea's mother had never in her life accused Chelsea of anything. She had a way of finding out the truth and revealing to you in the most subtle way that she knows.

"Huh? What are you talking about, Chels?" Usually, Raven is the once gazing off into the distance and Chelsea is left scratching her head. This time the shoe was on the other foot.

"How did you know, Mom?" Chelsea blinked herself out of her gaze and focused on her mother.

Raven looked at Joni, then back at Chelsea, then down at her hand inside Joni's and it all clicked. Chelsea's mother had figured out their secret.

"I would say it was a mother's intuition or something cosmic like that. But the truth is… I saw you kiss earlier."

Chelsea's closed her eyes to keep them from welling up. Raven sat motionless, all the wind sucked out of her lungs in an instant. They had both been so careful over the last month. The one time they let down their guard is the one time they are exposed.

Raven was tempted to go on the offensive and tell Chelsea's mother that they were together and loved each other and if she didn't like it then she could go to hell along with anyone else that didn't like what they were doing. However, realizing that it was Chelsea's house and Chelsea's mother, she decided to let Chelsea go first.

Fifteen seconds went by, which seemed like an hour, before Chelsea could speak. "Mom… we were going to…"

"Chelsea, sweetie, you don't have to explain. If I were in your shoes, I would have thought twice about telling me too." Her mother said in a calm soothing voice. "Look, I want to start off by saying that I love both of you very much. Always have, always will."  
"Now, we're going to talk about this, the three of us, but first, we all need to hear someone in this room say it. So who's going to do it?"

Chelsea was still in shock, as was Raven. The two of them combined might have blinked five times in the previous two minutes. Raven looked down at the floor then glanced at Chelsea out of the corner of her eye. She then stiffened her spine and looked directly at Chelsea's mother. Chelsea sat up straight, took Raven by the hand and looked her mother in the eye as well.

"Raven and I are seeing each other. We have been dating for a little over a month." Chelsea's words were quick and to the point. When she finished her sentence, she squeezed Raven's hand. Raven squeezed back in a sign of solidarity.

"Ok, now everybody, breathe." Joni encouraged. She was determined to have a productive conversation. "I don't want to ask questions right now. I don't want to form any opinions. I want to listen."

Chelsea swallowed hard and looked at Raven. She always seemed to draw strength from her. "I'm right here with you." Raven whispered. Chelsea nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"I realized I was having feelings for Raven about two months ago. Everything in my life started falling apart, I was getting turned down for roles, failing tests, having problems with Tommy, but then I talked to you. You know the talk that we had about true love?"

Chelsea continued. "It was like your talk was right on time because when Tommy and I started having problems I wondered if I was ever going to fall in love and be safe and warm and happy. Then you started describing what true love was like. I went through everybody in my life, trying to see if anyone fit the description. And one person kept coming up as the answer to every question. It was Rae." Chelsea's tears began to fall. Her mother picked up the baton and ran with it.

"And you were conflicted because you didn't know if she felt the same way and you couldn't tell anyone because you didn't know how anyone was going to react." Joni rationalized. Chelsea nodded. Raven dropped her head, her tears beginning to fall.

"I felt so alone and just didn't want to be bothered with anyone for a while because nobody could help me." Chelsea added as her tears continued. "I was falling in love and I couldn't tell the two people in the world that I normally tell because I was afraid of losing them both."

Joni felt herself beginning to breakdown. This wasn't a client in her office. This was her daughter. She wanted to reach out and hold her and tell her everything would be alright and that she would never lose her mother like that. But Joni wanted to hear from Raven. She collected herself quickly.

"So, Rae what about you? When did Chelsea become... more than a friend to you?"

"About a month and a half ago." Raven began. "I was worried about her. She was stressing all the time, nothing was going right for her. I wanted to just stand up and fight her battles for her. And one night she cried on my shoulder like she always does and these feelings that I didn't even know that I had just came to the surface. That's when I figured that my feelings were more than just friendly."  
"Mrs. Dan — Joni, I love your daughter, as my friend first then as my girlfriend. I would never do anything to hurt her, in either situation. When she's hurting, I'm hurting too."

"Sweetie, how do you feel?" Joni turns her attention to Chelsea, who has now dried up most of her tears.

"I feel the same way. There is nothing I won't do for her." Chelsea began to well up again. Raven attempted to sniff back her own tears. It didn't work. Chelsea leaned forward and rests her head on the back of Raven's shoulder. Raven instinctively rested her head on top of Chelsea's, locked eyes with Joni and begins to pull away when, in a flash of defiance, she repositions her head on top of Chelsea's and closes her eyes figuring that her mother was going to have to get used to their contact sooner or later. Joni didn't blink, simply shifting her gaze toward Chelsea.

"Can I ask you two a question?" Joni asked. They both looked up at her and nodded. "Have the two of you thought about what this means out there… in society."

Chelsea answered. "We live in San Francisco. We see it every day. We've seen stuff that you don't know that we see. We know what this means."

"Does anyone else know?" Joni was hoping the answer was no. But if it wasn't, she had a feeling she knew who else knew.

"Eddie knows. But that's it." Raven offered.

"I had a feeling you would say that." Joni said admitting her suspicion about who else knew.

"Mom, you've been asking us questions. But, how do you feel… about us?" Chelsea asked the 64,000 question.

For the umpteenth time that evening, a question hung in the air for all to ponder. Joni felt the tears that she had successfully suppressed earlier return. This time, they didn't take no for an answer. "I am a little afraid for you." Joni started as her eyes began to water. "There are still people out there that are ignorant and mean-spirited when it comes to same-sex couples. I don't want to see you get your feelings or worse hurt."

"Those ignorant people can go fuck themselves, Mom!" Chelsea blurted out, shocking everyone in the room. Chelsea's mother had never heard her curse and certainly didn't expect the f-bomb to be the first curse word she would hear her daughter utter. Raven was shocked that Chelsea would have the guts to say that in front of her mother. Her respect for Chelsea actually went up a few more points with her verbal blast. But Chelsea wasn't done. "I am happy. Rae is happy. We are happy. If people choose to support us in our happiness then I welcome them into our lives. But if they can't accept us for who we are then they can go straight to hell with gasoline underwear on."

"Draws. It's gasoline draws. You always…" Raven says looking at Chelsea then turns to Joni. "She always messes that one up." That actually got a laugh out of the Daniels women as they dried their tears.

Joni wanted to refocus on the question. "Seriously, though… to finish answering your question, I am also happy for you because it looks like you are really happy. That is all I have ever wanted for you." Chelsea and Raven's eyes both soften and a smile begins to form in the corners of their mouths. "If Raven makes you happy..." Joni's tears returned. "... then I wish you the best."

"That's it?" Chelsea questioned expecting more.

"What? You want more?" Joni asked dabbing her eyes with tissues. Raven and Chelsea sat looking at each other in disbelief. "Do you want me to go over the sociological impact of lesbianism in America over the last 30 years."

"No, ma'am!" Raven said eagerly.

"I think we'll pass, Mom!" Chelsea gleefully added.

"Come, stand right here. Both of you." Joni ordered.

"I love you both. Be happy and be careful. And please..." Another round of tears were in the making. "... talk to me if you need to. Ok?" She reached out to embrace the girls in a group hug.

After releasing the hug, Raven and Chelsea embraced and squealed in delight. Joni stepped back and lowered her voice to a somber tone. "I hate to rain on your victory celebration but... how and when do you want to tell your father?"

"_Oh, damnit!" _Chelsea thought. _"I forgot for a second that I had two parents!"_  
Raven drew a long breath through clenched teeth.

After thinking about it for a minute, Chelsea decided that since the horse was out of the barn, everyone was going to ride. "I'm going to tell him right now."

"Ok, sweetie. I'll go get him for you." Joni turned to head to the stairs when Chelsea grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"No, Mom. I'll go." Chelsea said soberly.

"You want me to go with you?" Joni asked.

"No. I'll take Rae." Chelsea turned to Rae. "Stand outside the door for me?"

"Sure." Raven replied.

"Are you sure?" Joni wanted assurance.

"I'll be fine. I know how to talk to Dad. C'mon Rae."

Chelsea and Raven left Joni in the living room with her thoughts and headed up the stairs. Chelsea stopped in the hallway just short of the office door.

"Second thoughts?" Raven queried.

"No. Just thinking about how great my mother is… how great you are… and how great I hope my father will be." Chelsea said expressing her thoughts. "Well... wish me luck."

Raven put two fingers up to her mouth, kissed them and then touched them to Chelsea's lips. "Luck." Raven whispered.

Richard Daniels was an occupational therapist. He graduated cum laude from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. That is where he met Joni. They moved to San Francisco just before Chelsea was born when he accepted a teaching position at the University of San Francisco. He loves his family with all his heart. He is much like his wife in that he wants Chelsea to be happy. Like any father, he worries about his daughter's virtue. He doesn't want her to end up a notch on some young punk's bedpost. Rich Daniels loves his "pumpkin".

The door to her father's office/den was cracked. She could see the silhouette of his head peaking above the back of his favorite chair. The room was illuminated by the glow of the television. It looked like he was watching a hockey game.

(Chelsea knocks on the door)

"Come in."

Television announcer: "Eleven seconds, you got ten seconds, the countdown going on right now... Morrow up to Silk... five seconds left to go in the game! Do you believe in miracles? YES!"

"Whatcha watchin'? Chelsea asks as she sits on the arm of her father's oversized leather chair.

"The Miracle on Ice. U.S. versus The Soviet Union. Winter Olympics. Lake Placid, New York. 1980." He says as he glances up at her.

"Dad, you know they do play hockey in 2006." Chelsea joked. "Why do they call it 'The Miracle on Ice' anyway?" Chelsea decided to humor him since she and the other women ran him out of the living room earlier.

"Nobody thought the U.S. had a chance to beat the Russians that day, but they did. They showed heart and determination. They refused to be defeated. They had a goal in mind, stuck together and achieved it, together." Chelsea smiled at that analysis. That is exactly how she felt when it came to Raven. "Then you had Al Michaels calling the last few seconds of the game, 'five seconds left to go in the game! Do you believe in miracles? YES!'. You go up to anybody 35 or older and say Miracle on Ice or Lake Placid and they'll say 'Do you believe in miracles? YES!'" Rich paused. "But you didn't come in here to talk to an old man about hockey. What's on your mind, pumpkin?"

Chelsea looked at her father, the man she used to call "Poppy". She knew the next few minutes were going to change the course of their relationship forever.

"No. I didn't Dad. I need to talk to you about something... personal... that's going on with me."

"Ok. Are you sick?" Her father always worried about Chelsea being sick.

"No, I am physically, mentally and emotionally fine. As a matter of fact, I haven't felt this good in a long time." Chelsea reassured her father. "See it's like this… I'm dating someone. And... we're in love."

"In love… I see." He paused before continuing. "So tell me, how long have you been dating?" Rich Daniels is in his full here-we-go-again mindset.

"About a month now." Chelsea responded.

"And how long have you known your new love?" Her father was setting her up for the big 'you're too young to know what love is' speech.

"For a really long time."

"Well tell me, Ms. Young and In Love…" His voice was dripping with playful sarcasm. "Just when to I get to meet the newest edition of Mr. Right?" Chelsea desperately wanted him to be a little more serious, given the size of the bomb she is about to drop on him.

"Or is it Mr. Right Now?"

"Umm… Dad…"

"Sorry, pumpkin." He chuckles. "I'm just having a little fun at your expense. Of course you are taking this seriously." He straightens himself. "Now when do I get to meet the love of your life?"

"Dad… you already have." Chelsea was about to open the bay doors holding the bomb.

Chelsea stepped into the hallway and led Raven by the hand into the room. Rich Daniels was a cum laude graduate, but he didn't catch this one. "What? It's so bad that you've got to get Raven to tell me who it is?"

Chelsea set her jaw and let it go. "Dad, I want to introduce you to Mr. Right... Raven Baxter."

He was about to let loose a gut-busting laugh until he looked at the deer-in-the-headlights look that Raven had on her face and the unmistakable look he saw on Chelsea's face. It was the look of the Daniels ironclad will. His grandfather invented that look. His father passed it on to him and he passed it on to her. It was not used as the punch line to a joke. If she was using it on him, then what she just said was deadly serious He studied the girls a bit longer looking for any sign from them that this was the most elaborate hoax ever pulled in the Daniels' house. He saw no such sign. He picked up the remote control and turned off the TV.

"Uh… you're serious, aren't you?" He asked his daughter, needing final confirmation.

"As a heart attack, Dad."

Rich felt his pulse quicken as he gathered his thoughts. There were too many floating around in his head.

"Well, you've... got the floor." He was all too willing to let someone else speak. One of the most decorated occupational therapists in Northern California just had his brains reduced to oatmeal.

Chelsea slowly began her explanation. She told her father the same things that she had told her mother earlier, the same things that she told Raven a month earlier, the same things that she admitted to herself before that. He listened intently as the little girl that he bounced on his knee, sang to as a toddler, bought tons of ice cream for, taught to ride a bike and drive a car, faded away, replaced with a beautiful, articulate, passionate woman that is introducing a new part of herself to him for the first time.

He chose not to ask questions or make comments. He listened to his daughter until there were no more words. By the time she was finished, he was drained. He sat motionless. Was he going to cry? Explode into a rage? Stand up and walk out of the room? The silence was deafening and it was driving them crazy.

"Dad? Say something." Chelsea pleaded. She got no response.

"Daddy? C'mon, please say something." Chelsea began to cry. "Please... say... something." Her sobbing intensified.

Her sobs snapped him out of his daze. He stood up from his chair walked over to her and embraced her. "Shhh." He attempted to quiet her, which just made her cry even harder. He held her for a minute or two before her tears began to subside. Still holding Chelsea in his arms, he looked at a teary-eyed Raven, who was looking at Chelsea.

"I know you love her, but do you REALLY love her?" His question was designed make Raven either fight or flee.

"I REALLY love her." Raven responded, tears streaming down her face.

He searched Raven's face for any doubt about what she just said. He found none. Her response made him nod his head. It also made Chelsea break into another round of tears. "Your mother knows." This statement was his acknowledgement of her bond with her mother. She finds out everything first. Chelsea, face still buried in his chest, nodded yes. He once again looked at Raven standing in the middle of the room, wiping tears away from her eyes. He didn't have the heart to say anything discouraging to them. He could see and feel how painful it was for them to come out, and he could tell that they were intent on giving their relationship a try. If there was anything he knew about these two, he knew that they were stubborn as hell when they wanted to be.

"Raven?" The tone of his voice was sharp, causing her to flinch.

"Yes, sir." She responded in almost military fashion.

"I love you like a daughter. You know that."

"Yes, sir, I do."

"Don't fuck this up. You hear me. Don't break her heart." He knew his words sounded harsh, but wanted his message to Raven to be crystal clear. "She could get over losing a boyfriend or, I guess now, a girlfriend. But you are more than that to her. Just…" He felt the formation of tears sting his eyes. "Just don't break her heart."

"I love you, Daddy!" Chelsea continues sobbing. He now has tears streaming down his face.

"I love you too, pumpkin." He whispered as he held and rocked her.

Raven stood sobbing in the middle of the room with her hands over her mouth as she watched Chelsea's father accept his daughter as she was. As she watched Chelsea and her "Poppy", Raven remembered the words of the hockey announcer she heard on the television. "…Do you believe in miracles?"

With tears still streaming down her face, Raven nodded her head and smiled as Chelsea lifted her head slightly, met Raven's gaze and let out a half-laugh, half-cry. Raven whispered to herself out loud, "Yes... I believe in miracles."

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**Fifteen chapters down. I don't know how many left to go. Sorry about the length of this chapter. It was a part of the story that needed to be told in it's entirety. Please tell me what you think. Thanks again for coming this far with me.**


	16. Three Strikes

**DISCLAIMER: ****Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Warren-Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

**Author's Note: I am so glad that y'all are enjoying the story thus far. I am having a great time writing it. I know this is a shameless plug, but if you know of anyone else who you think might enjoy it, then please let them know. Now, enough about me and my ego. On to the story!**

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**Thunderstorms**

_**Chapter 16**_

**Three Strikes**

Rich Daniels left his daughter and Raven in his office so he could find his wife. They suddenly had a lot to talk about before going to bed.

Raven and Chelsea looked at each other momentarily. They simultaneously leapt toward each other, capturing each other in the tightest hug imaginable. Tears and sobs of joy and relief flowed out of them. They had cleared the first hurdle of the weekend. Chelsea's parents accepted them. One set of parents down, one to go.

The longest day of their lives to date was over and they were beat. They went to Chelsea's room to get ready for bed. As they got ready, both of them looked at the bed and realized that Chelsea's parents didn't say anything regarding their sleeping arrangements. They assumed someone would come knocking on the door, inviting one of them down to the living room to the pullout from the basement. The knock never came. Her parents were still reeling from the news. That bit of logistics hadn't crossed their minds yet. Raven and Chelsea figured that they would leave well enough alone and stay put until someone said otherwise. One set of parents down, one to go.

This Saturday morning was blindingly bright. The sun blazed in its full glory with not a cloud in the sky. A light breeze came in off San Francisco Bay. The morning was perfection in a bottle.

Raven stirred from her sleep first. Chelsea was still sound asleep. Chelsea didn't sleep like a log. She slept like a corpse. Raven sat up in the bed and looked at the clock on the nightstand on Chelsea's side of the bed. It was 7:40. She could see that there was a note on top of the clock. She reached over Chelsea, picked it up and began to read.

_Sweetie,_

_Your father and I went out for our usual Saturday breakfast date. We've got a couple of errands to run as well. We should be back around 11:30. I made you girls breakfast. It's on the stove. Don't plan anything for this afternoon. We're taking the two of you out for lunch._

_Love you,_

_Mom_

Raven placed the note back on top of the clock. She loved Joni for still being "Mom". Then she realized that Chelsea's mother had slipped into the room while they were sleeping. She wondered what went through her mother's head when she saw the two of them lying there. When she woke up, they were on their sides facing away from each other, so she hoped they had been like that for a while.

As she sat there, she couldn't help but look at Chelsea sleeping. Chelsea had shifted in her sleep and was now lying on her back with one arm up near her head. Her thick auburn locks were sprawled out across the pillow, her face blissfully angelic. Raven always thought that Chelsea had a natural beauty that required little or no makeup.

She had on her favorite pair of chartreuse silk pajamas that Raven gave her for her last birthday. It took Raven six weeks to find some in Chelsea's favorite color. With Chelsea being a notorious cover-kicker, Raven noticed a sliver of creamy skin peeking out in between the bottom of the pajama top and the waistband. Raven felt a warm, familiar tingle inside that began to pull on her.

Raven jumped out of the bed and ran into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She hated morning breath more than overpriced shoes. She came back over to the bed to raise the dead from her slumber. She had a sure-fire method that she knew would work. Raven gently turned Chelsea's head, pointing her face away from her. Raven then started kissing Chelsea's neck as she pressed her body against the sleeping beauty.

Chelsea began to softly moan. Raven continued kissing Chelsea's neck and running her hand up and down the length of Chelsea's body until she heard her gasp, signaling that she was conscious.

"Oh my God, Rae?" Chelsea exclaimed with shock and building arousal.

Raven lifted her head from Chelsea's neck and placed her hand over Chelsea's mouth.

"Go brush your teeth RIGHT… NOW." Raven ordered. Chelsea's eyes widened. It was clear to her that Raven's eyes were dark and full of naughty intentions.

Chelsea looked at her bedroom door in fear of getting caught.

"They're gone. They left a note. They won't be back for another three and a half hours. Now go!" Raven was on fire. Chelsea was about to get burned.

Chelsea ran to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Raven's fuse had been lit and there was nothing that was going to stop the explosion… except her cell phone. Her phone was on the nightstand. When it rang, she shot it a look like she was Linda Blair in _The Exorcist_. She checked the Caller ID. It was Eddie.

She snatched the phone open and hit "TALK".

"What the fuck do you want?" Raven growled in a low voice through gritted teeth.

"_WELL GODDAMN! WHO PISSED IN YOUR FRUIT LOOPS THIS MORNIN'?"_ Eddie replied in shock and anger.

"My bad Ed. I'm just in the middle of something right now." Raven was trying to hurry Eddie off the phone.

"_It's eight o'clock in the morning. What are you doing so important that you got to snap at me like that?"_

The bathroom door flew open and Chelsea plopped onto the bed. "Get off the phone, now!" Chelsea whispered in her 'Strawberry' voice to Raven, but it was loud enough that Eddie heard her.

"_Never mind. Question answered. I'll talk to you later."_

"I'm sorry Eddie. What's up… AH. HAHAHAHA." Raven began to laugh a little as Chelsea started nibbling on her earlobe.

Eddie was in full verbal backpedal. _"Nope. Not important right now. You CALL ME when you get a chance."_

"I'm sorr-"

"_Don't apologize. I'm not mad. Just… do... what you got to do."_  
_"And… uh… tell Chels not to hurt herself. Later."_  
(CLICK)

Chelsea began to giggle devilishly. Raven tossed the phone on the floor, flipped Chelsea on her back and began to devour her mouth with passion. She moved down to Chelsea's neck and collarbone.

"Wh… What… got… you so…" Chelsea couldn't concentrate with Raven all over her. "…umm… hot and bothered this mor… ning?"

"You." Raven mumbled into Chelsea's neck.

Chelsea threw her head back in total submission to Raven's advances when Raven's cell phone rang again.

"FUCK!" Raven screamed in frustration. "CAN'T YOU PEOPLE SEE I'M TRYING TO GET LAID HERE?" She scrambled to her feet to answer the electronic nookie-blocker. "Dad. Great timing."

"Hello?" Raven answered dejectedly.

"_Hey Rae. I didn't think you were going to be up this early. I was going to leave a message."_

"It's... ok Dad, what's up?" Raven looked over at Chelsea who was lying on the bed on her back propped up on her elbows with a come hither look on her face. Raven quickly turned her head. She couldn't lust after Chelsea and talk to her father at the same time.

"_I just wanted to see what time y'all were coming home tonight."_ Victor said. _"I've got some running around to do today and I wanted to leave plenty of time to fix dinner."_

"Probably around 6. But, don't go to any trouble, Dad." Raven looked over at Chelsea again. This time, Chelsea was slowly unbuttoning her pajama top still giving Raven that seductively evil look. "Chelsea's parents are taking us to lunch and we'll probably stuffed." She put her hand over the talk piece of the phone and mouthed to Chelsea, _"Ima tear yo' ass up."_

"_Well, I'll just fix something light then. Y'all have fun and tell Rich and Joni I said hi."_

"Ok. Bye Dad. I love you."

"Love you too."

Raven hung up the phone placed it on the nightstand and walked over to Chelsea's side of the bed in menacing fashion.

"So you're gonna mess with me while I talking to my father, huh?" Raven leaned over Chelsea's prone body. Chelsea started giggling and scooting away from Raven doing a reverse crabwalk across the bed.

"Titillating and teasing me, huh?" Raven started walking around to the other side.

Chelsea suddenly straightened her face and with a serious look answered. "I was not titillating you!" Then Chelsea suddenly whipped off her unbuttoned pajama top, exposing her breasts. "Now, I'm TIT-illating you!" She started laughing as Raven's eyes narrowed before she pounced on the now-topless redhead.

Raven went straight for Chelsea's tickle spots and had her laughing uncontrollably.

"Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait!" Chelsea screamed gasping for air. Raven stopped her tickling assault.

"What?"

"Is that all you got?" Chelsea dared her.

Raven's fuse had been re-ignited. Her eyes normally change colors to match her mood. They went from hazel to deep, dark brown in seconds. She lowered her head and assumed her previous mission, the one she had embarked on before the interruptions. Raven furiously kissed Chelsea looking to taste every inch of her that she could. This was a hotter and faster beginning than any other lovemaking session they had over the past month.

Chelsea pulled Raven's nightshirt off, leaving her in only her panties. Chelsea took one of Raven's nipples into her mouth and began her specialty – alternating flicking and sucking. This drove Raven crazy with pleasure. For a minute, Raven thought she might be able to come just from that. She was that turned on. That sensation lasted for about a minute or so.

"DING! DONG!"

Raven dove off to the side of Chelsea face down. "SON OF A BITCH!" "AAAAAAHHHHH!" Raven scream was muffled by the cotton and poly-filled gag better known as the pillow.

Chelsea stared at the ceiling, her sarcastic side bubbling to the surface. "Yep. This is gonna be a GOOOOD day."

"DING! DONG!"

Chelsea threw her robe and slippers on and ran down to answer the door. Raven didn't move from the spot where she collapsed. Chelsea reappeared a minute later.

"Some woman had the wrong house." Chelsea said as she closed her bedroom door. "Now where were we?"

Raven popped up off the bed and grabbed her nightshirt off the floor. "Well, that's it for me." Raven said with frustrated resignation in her voice.

"Rae? We're not finished yet!" Chelsea protested.

"Oh, I am, Chels." Raven said as she snatched her bag off Chelsea's cedar chest. "That was a sign. No sex for you. You come back – one year!" Raven's latest impression was of the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld. Raven huffed then started toward the bathroom.

"C'mon Rae, that was getting hot!" Chelsea making a last ditch plea for Raven's return to bed.

"Chels, with the amount of action we had this morning, we might as well have been on the Disney Channel or... ABC Kids!" Raven's comment caused them to look at each other and pause, confused, as if that somehow sounded familiar to them. Raven shook her head and then continued. "Nope. I'm going to take a shower. A cold one! Then I am going to get dressed and enjoy your mother's breakfast, which I'm sure is just… YUMMY!" Raven delivered that proclamation in classic Raven Baxter style before disappearing into the bathroom, slamming the door.

Chelsea stood in the middle of the room, looking toward the bed at what might have been. She then decided to comment on the morning's lack of activities, "That's so…" (Cell phone ringing on the nightstand) "Raven!"

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**I decided to have a little fun with this chapter. I hope you laughed a little. Or a lot! Seventeen is next! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	17. In Da Club

**DISCLAIMER: ****Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Warren-Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

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**Thunderstorms**

_**Chapter 17**_

**In Da Club**

Chelsea and Raven stepped out of the Daniels' SUV in the parking lot of the Baymont Country Club. It was a sprawling, lush club near the Pacific.

"Chels! This place is incredible!" Raven looked around in amazement. "Did you see that big iron gate we came through?"

"See, when I become bigger than Donna Cabonna, I'm gonna have a gate at the front of my estate just like that."

"Don't you mean OUR estate, Rae?" Chelsea was quick to correct her.

"Oh? You plan on being around that long?" Raven replied with mock sarcasm.

"I plan on being around long enough to wring out your support hose, girlfriend!" Chelsea shot back.

"Well, alright gimme some here!" Raven extended her arm skyward as they exchanged a high-five.

As they headed toward the clubhouse, Mr. Daniels gave the girls the quick rundown of the place. "You know you girls are going to love this place. They've got everything, spa, heated swimming pool, Jacuzzi, tennis courts, sauna, 18-hole golf course."

"You… coulda stopped at spa, Mr. D!" Raven remarked, indicating her favorite thing on his list. Raven leaned over to Chelsea.

"Your dad could afford to join a place like this?"

Chelsea whispered, "It's the one luxury my mother allows him. Plus she loves the spa."

They entered the clubhouse and went over to the restaurant, The 19th Tee, to be seated.

"Excuse me for a second, I'll be right back." Chelsea said to the rest of them.

"Overactive bladder." Raven and Joni said in unison, causing them to laugh.

"Are y'all gonna start the drunk women routine again, cause I could go get a couple of holes in." Rich said with one eye on the tee box at the first hole.

"You are not setting foot near a green today unless it's a vegetable. We are having a double date here. Mind you manners." Joni admonished her husband.

"You said… double date." Raven was taken aback by Joni's description of their lunch outing.

"I just call 'em as I see 'em, Rae." Joni said with a wink. Raven instantly lit up.

Chelsea returned, making the threesome a foursome again. "Sorry guys. I'm ready. Let's eat!" Raven went and wrapped her arms around Chelsea's arm with a huge beaming smile.

"What's up with you?" Chelsea was a little surprised by Raven's open display of affection in front of her parents.

"I just told your father that we were on a double date and I think she liked the sound of that." Joni said to her now-grinning daughter as they were being seated.

Lunch was extraordinary to the girls. With Chelsea's father telling them to order anything they wanted, Raven decided on Maine lobster, Chelsea had what she described as "the biggest fruit salad they ever picked off a vine". After the check was settled, they all decided to walk their food off before heading back home.

"Pumpkin, your mother and I are going for a stroll around the place. Why don't you and Raven take a look around. If you see something you want in one of the shops, tell them to put it on my club account."

"Cha-ching!" Raven and Chelsea making the obnoxious cash register sound.

"Just don't bankrupt me, ok?" Rich said with trepidation, half-joking, half serious. "See you guys later." Chelsea's parents disappeared down one of the hallways.

"Well, the dynamic duo is in effect! Let's roll." Raven said, ready to start the show.

The two young women walked around the spacious three-story clubhouse, taking in all the rich mahogany, floors that were covered in both expensive Spanish tile and plush carpeting. Pictures of club members and events, old and new adorned the walls. And there seemed to be a trophy of picture case around every corner.

They turned to corner to go down a long hallway on the third floor. It was the North Wing of the club, the Club Chairman's Wing. The office at the end of the hall had a huge glass door adorned with the club seal that read, "Office of the Club Chairman". There were three other wooden doors along the corridor.

"This place is beautiful, a little stuffy, but I can see why people would want to join." Raven was enthralled with the traditional trappings of the club.

"And it's really quiet." Chelsea added.

Chelsea took Raven by the hand as they continued walking and then in the middle of the hallway, she stopped.

"What's wrong, Chels?" Raven asked, wondering why they stopped in the middle of an empty hallway.

"Nothing. We're here."

"Here where? In a hallway?"

"No. We're here." Chelsea replied as she nodded her head toward the door they were standing in front of.

"Chels, you have to go to the bathroom again?" Raven quizzically asked. Chelsea had gone once before lunch and once during. "This one's out of order."

"I know that!" Chelsea replied with her 'Duh, Rae' tone of voice. Then, her brown eyes darkened like the sky before an approaching storm. "Who do you think put the sign on the door?" The sentence sent a chill through Raven's entire body. Strawberry was back. Raven could have sworn she felt the air around her thicken.

"You didn't go to the bathroom earlier. Did you?" Raven felt herself getting warm.

"The first time, yes." Chelsea closed the distance between them. "The second time… no."

"Oh." Raven found herself in a familiar spot; caught completely off-guard by Chelsea.

"This morning, you were trying to get yours." Chelsea stepped around Raven and opened the bathroom door. "This afternoon… you're going to get it."

"We could get caught." Raven said in a mix of fear and excitement.

"The door locks and I've got a cover story ready." Chelsea said as she pulled Raven into the bathroom by the arm and slammed Raven's back into the door shutting it. Chelsea pressed her body against Raven as she locked the door.

Chelsea was like a starving woman eating her first meal in years. Raven was her buffet. Mouth, earlobes, neck, collarbone were all falling victim to Chelsea's mouth.

"I thought… about… the look… in your eyes… all morning." Chelsea mumbled in between kisses on Raven's neck and collarbone.

Raven's head was thrown back, her fingers intertwined in Chelsea's hair. She was incapable of making any sound. She was paralyzed with pleasure.

"Do these snap?" Chelsea asked as she fingered the top two buttons of Raven's blouse.

"Uh-huh." Raven managed to eke out.

"Good." Chelsea said as she yanked Raven's blouse open in one motion. Chelsea buried her face in Raven's ample cleavage, consuming the soft skin on the tops of her breasts and the peach scent that emanated from them

Raven drew one leg up and started rubbing the outside of one of Chelsea's legs. As Chelsea continued to kiss her, Raven let out a series of low whimpers.

"Oh. I know what you want." Chelsea started her slow descent until she was eye-to-eye with the waistband of Raven's skirt. She slid the fabric up until she could see the fabric of Raven's panties. "Peach. Huh. You knew you were getting some today, didn't you?"

Raven squirmed. "Chelsea, will you please shut up and fuck me?"

Chelsea smiled. "Well, since you said please." Chelsea put Raven's boot-clad leg over her shoulder and pulled the soaked fabric of her underwear to the side, exposing Raven's love to her. Chelsea put Raven's clit in her mouth and began furiously flicking it.

Raven did everything she could not to scream. Raven bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes. Chelsea's strokes intensified as did Raven's grip on Chelsea's hair. Raven was holding on for dear life. She was at the edge of the cliff. There was no ringing cell phone, no knock at the door. With her eyes closed she was imagining what this was looking like, wishing she could step outside her body to see this. The mirror was out of range and she didn't dare ask Chelsea to stop.

Chelsea was surprised that Raven was holding on this long. She reached up and began rubbing Raven's nipple with her thumb through the fabric of her bra. When Raven took her breast out, Chelsea pinched it causing a moan to come from her. As she continued to roll her nipple between her forefinger and thumb her oral assault was breaking Raven down fast. Another surge of pleasure shot through Raven's whole body causing it to shake. Chelsea could sense that her Raven was ready.

"Looks like you're ready." Chelsea said looking up at Raven, not moving her eyes until Raven opened her eyes and looked down at her. Chelsea reached up with her left hand. With only her middle and third fingers extended, she gave Raven an order that by itself almost made Raven come. "Wet these for me."

Raven's eyes widened as if she were about to have a vision as she took Chelsea's fingers in to her mouth as she was ordered to. Chelsea brought her hand back down and placed the tips of those two fingers right on the edge. Raven purred. She slowly began to push the same two fingers inside. With every centimeter she pushed, the volume of Raven's purr increased. When they reached their limit, so did Raven.

"OH, SHI—" Raven's body clamped down hard around Chelsea's fingers as she came. The intensity of her orgasm left her feeling weak. As Raven's body began to release its grip on Chelsea, she slowly slid her fingers out, eliciting a last tingling wave of pleasure.

Chelsea stood up and kissed Raven gently on the lips. "I hope that made up for this morning."

Raven looked at Chelsea for a moment. She was half-naked and Chelsea was still fully clothed. It turned her on. A lot. Chelsea took her, had her way with her and was ready to leave. That was a very cocky thing for her to do, Raven thought. The heat that had started to dissipate after her climax, reached a flash boil.

"Almost." Raven answered.

"Almost? Chelsea asked back.

"Yeah. Almost." Raven replied as she took a step toward Chelsea, picked her up underneath her butt and walked forward several steps; Chelsea's back crashing into the wood-paneled wall behind her. She had Chelsea pinned against the wall. Chelsea's feet were several inches off the ground. She was suspended in air as Raven began her offensive.

"Holy Shit, Rae!" Chelsea breathlessly exclaimed, her lungs still trying to recover from the slam against the wall.

Raven lifted Chelsea's turtleneck exposing Chelsea's bra which was history in seconds as Raven performed a one-handed un-clipping of the front clasp. Raven's mouth moved from breast to breast with precision. She was in no mood to fumble. Chelsea was overwhelmed as Raven nipped, flicked and sucked her nipples with feverish intensity. Chelsea's body quivered and her face had a look of ecstatic shock and awe that she was being completely dominated like this. Every moan that escaped her lips shuddered as every touch of Raven's mouth rocked her.

Raven let her down only to lead her over to the sink. With both of them facing the mirror, Raven continued kissing and sucking on Chelsea's neck from behind. As she was doing this Chelsea undid the button on her slacks, letting them fall to her ankles. Raven pushed Chelsea's torso down, bending her at the waist. Raven then squatted behind her and finding Chelsea's sweet spot began licking and kissing her from behind.

This was new, raw and unexpected for Chelsea. She didn't know if it was the thought of what Raven was doing or the act but Chelsea knew she loved it. Then just when she thought she couldn't be surprised again, Raven started a licking stroke that traveled from Chelsea's sensitive bud all the way up to her backside and to the base of her spine.

"OH FUCK!" Chelsea cried out as she felt the sensation in the entire lower half of her body. Raven repeated the stroke two more times, getting the same response each time.

Chelsea's breathing was ragged. Her whole body was tingling. Raven stood up and slid two fingers inside Chelsea from behind. Chelsea up righted herself, hands braced on the sink as both she and Raven watched themselves in the mirror. It was the most incredible thing they had ever seen. Moments later, without warning, Chelsea's body granted her the release they both wanted so badly.

They both stood looking at each other's reflections in the mirror admiring just how sexy the other was. Both of them also realized that they had just had sex in public for the first time. It was a rush that was unlike any they had experienced to that point.

"You are incredible." That was all that came to Raven's mind at that moment.

"Not me, but you." Chelsea replied. "The thing with the tongue… uh…"

Raven blushed. "Too much? I just got carried away."

"Get carried away more often." Chelsea answered with a lip-biting grin.

"We better get cleaned up. Your parents are probably…" Raven's reality check was interrupted by Chelsea's cell phone.

"That's my mom."

Chelsea answered the phone. "Hey… Yeah… We're upstairs in the clubhouse… Yes I had to go, a-gain… Yes mother… The lobby in 15 minutes… Ok… NO!… Alright… Bye.

"What was the NO about?" Raven asked as she finished adjusting her clothes, now working on her hair.

"She said 'You two aren't somewhere in need of a cigarette, are you?'" Chelsea had an embarrassed blush rapidly forming. "I mean what's that all about?"

"Chels? Hello?" Raven's head is on a swivel showing Chelsea the scene of their latest crime. "If I smoked, I'd be on my third cigarette by now."

"Point taken. But she still didn't have to say that!" Chelsea was tied up in a knot over the comment.

"Chels, your mom loves needling you and you fall for it every time." Raven said. "Now come on. Are you ready?"

"Yeah. Ready for round two." Chelsea purred.

"Easy there Tiger." Raven backed up. "Your parents are expecting us in the lobby in a few minutes and you are not messing up my makeup again."

"I won't touch your face. I promise." Chelsea's 'I promise' was loaded.

"Out, out, damned spot!" Lady McRaven pointed toward the bathroom door.

Chelsea and Raven met up with Chelsea's parents and headed back to the Daniels homestead. It was 3:30. They would have enough time to go back, shower, change and head over to the Baxter's by 6.

The girls headed downstairs, bags in hand ready to leave. They thanked the Daniels for everything, the talks, the understanding and the food.

"Come here, pumpkin." Rich Daniels summoned his daughter.

"You take care of yourself and call your old man every once and a while." He hugged his baby girl. "Maybe we can ride over to San Jose and catch a Sharks game sometime."

"I'd like that a lot." Chelsea smiled and kissed her father on the cheek. "I love you, Poppy."

"Love you too, sweetie." Rich turned his attention to Raven. "Raven?" He said in a firm military-type voice.

"Sir, yes sir." Raven responded in kind. He stuck out his hand to shake hers. She decided to play along and gripped his firmly.

"You've got a fine young woman at your side, my baby girl."

"Yes, sir she is." Raven still gripping his hand.

"Don't let anything happen to her. She's all I've got." He maintained his firm grip but his eyes softened with his last remark.

"I won't." Raven softened her voice. "Bye… Poppy." Raven let go of his hand and threw her arms around his neck. They both broke out into broad smiles.

Joni walked over to Chelsea and put her hands on her shoulders. "Well, off you go again."

"I'll be back in a couple of weeks." Chelsea reached up and grabbed her mother's wrists.

"Make sure you bring Raven back with you, ok?

"I will. I love you, Mom. And thank you…" She turned to look at her father. "Both of you for being there for me… for us." She turned back to her mother and embraced her.

"Rae."

"Joni."

Joni reached out an embraced Raven. "You two be careful out there, ok? You know what I mean."

"I do."

"Look, tonight might be a little rough, if you choose to… you know. But I want you to call me if you need to." Joni was playing mother to Raven.

"Yeah, it's really gonna be rough. I've got to do it twice. Once with my father in person and once with my mother on the phone." Raven speaking her double dilemma out loud for the first time.

"Just believe in miracles, Rae. Just believe in miracles." Rich's advice to Raven seemed to give her hope.

"I will." Raven reassured them. "Now, let's get this road on the show!"

"Show on the road, Rae." Chelsea corrected.

"I know, Chels… It was a joke… _Bringing Down the House… _Queen Latifah… We watched it last week.

"Oh, yeah."

"Yeah. C'mon." Rae chuckled.

"Bye! We love you!" Raven and Chelsea at the same time.

They hop in the car ready to head to Raven's house. Raven sits in the driver's seat for a minute before starting the car.

"Rae? You ok?"

Raven looks at Chelsea for a second. The weight of the moment finally hit her.

"Yeah. I'm just thinking."

"About your Dad?"

"And Cory. I mean he's going to wake up tomorrow knowing that he has a gay sister."

"You know, your family has surprised you before…"

Raven didn't hear the rest of Chelsea's thought. She was having a vision.

**(VISION)**

_**Chelsea: I don't know. Maybe your father bought a new one. You did say his was getting old.**_

_**Raven: No, Chels… Oh my God. I don't believe it!**_

_**Chelsea: What Rae?**_

**(END OF VISION)**

"Rae. You just had a vision. What was it?"

"You and I were talking about something my father bought, I said no, I don't believe it…"

"That doesn't make any sense, Rae."

"I know Chels. C'mon, let's ride. Crank up some music!"

Just before they pull off, Raven's cell phone rings. She puts her Bluetooth earpiece in and answers the call. "Hello?"

"_Hey, sweetheart!"_

"MOM! HOW ARE YOU DOING? GOD, I MISS YOU!"

"_I'm doing fine. I miss you too._

"How's England treating you?"

"_If I eat one more piece of Shepherd's pie, (switches to a British accent) I think I'll throw up all over the bonnet of my car!"_ She and Raven laugh. _"Other than that I'm good. How about you? You still livin' la vida loca?"_

"Mom, you don't know the half." Raven shoots Chelsea a wide-eyed look that Chelsea returns.

"_Tell me."_

"Wait a minute. Isn't it like 4 in the morning there or something?"

"_It's a little before 2. I just wanted to hear your voice and know that you're ok. How's Chelsea doing?"_

"She's fine. She's right here in the car with me…"

"Hey, Mrs. B!" Chelsea yelled out

Raven continued. "She says hey, Chels… Yeah. We're headed over to the house now to spend the night.

"_Well, I don't want to keep you. I just wanted to say hi and that I love you."_

"Mom, you don't have to go. I… do need to talk to you… about something."

"_Look baby, I'll talk to you soon. I promise. (yawns) Now I think I'm going to get some sleep."_

"Ok, Mom. I'll call you tomorrow. I love you."

"_Love you too baby. Bye."_

"Bye Mom." Raven had a smile a mile wide on her face.

"God, Chels I needed to hear her voice."

"You feel a little better now?"

"I think so. That was like a shot of adren…" Raven paused her thought as she pulled up to her house. There was a strange car in the driveway. Raven did not recognize it. It was a Black 2005 Infiniti G35.

"Chels, I wonder who's car that is in the driveway?" Raven cocked her head to one side as she studied the car and the house.

"I don't know." Chelsea replied. "Maybe your father bought a new one. You did say his was getting old."

"_Oh, snap! This is my vision!" _Raven thought."No, Chels… Raven's wheels started turning, then stopped suddenly. "Oh… my… God!… I don't believe it!"

"What Rae?" Chelsea got nervous.

"My father said that if Cory got straight A's on his last report card that he would start teaching Cory how to drive and give him the 4Runner when he turns 16." Raven fumed. "Last period he got straight A's and now that little bastard is going to be rollin' around in the 4Runner.

"But Rae, Cory turns 16 next year and anyway, that's an '02. Your father bought you an '03!"

"Yeah, an '03 Rav4! I wanted the 4Runner, Chels!" Raven stomped her foot like a child throwing a tantrum. "More room, better speakers… I'd have been ballin' in that truck!"

"But you ball in this truck!" Chelsea tried to reason with her.

Raven gritted her teeth. "It ain't the same… man!" Raven's impression of the hour was Martin Lawrence from his show when he tells his friend Tommy that "You ain't got no job, man."

Raven huffed and hopped out of the truck slamming the door. She opened the hatch and snatched their bags out of the truck. They walked up the stairs to the house and Raven fumbled for her keys finally finding them and opening the door. She looked up from picking up her bags and her mouth dropped wide open.

"What took you so long? You were coming from down the street. I flew in from England. How did I beat you here?"

Raven sprinted across the living room screaming. "MOM!"

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**Yes I did! Yes I did! To paraphrase the words of the former WWE Champion, The Rock, "Finally…Tonya Baxter… has come back… HOME!" Keep reading people! Not even I know what I'm going to do next! Chapter 18. Y'all come on back now. Ya hear?**


	18. Baxter Family Reunion

**DISCLAIMER: ****Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Warren-Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

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**Thunderstorms**

_**Chapter 18**_

**Baxter Family Reunion**

Raven threw her arms around her mother and wept. Her mother was the last person she expected to see standing in the living room but was the person Raven wanted to see the most. She missed her mother so much. She was the one person outside of Chelsea that she could talk to about almost anything. Her mother did her best to try not to judge, just listen and advise. That is what Raven was in need of most at that moment in her life.

Tonya Baxter was home. She had gone to Oxford over a year earlier on an exchange fellowship to study law. She still had a year and a half to go in the program before she returned for good. This was her first trip home since she had left. Her appearance had changed in that year. Gone were her signature braids. She got rid of them in favor of a straight do that was shoulder length. Most of the time she had it pulled back in a ponytail as she did now.

She had also picked up a few well-placed pounds in her absence, a fact that was not lost on her husband Victor. He had been showing her how much he missed her for a majority of the morning. His early morning phone call to Raven was designed to see when she was coming home, not for meal preparation purposes but to ensure privacy. No sense in Raven's first look at her mother in over a year being legs up underneath Dear Old Dad. Cory had spent the night at a friend's house and didn't return home until noon.

"Mom, I missed you so much!" Raven exclaimed as she wept. Chelsea watched the reunion with tears streaming down her face.

"I missed you too baby." Tonya whispered with tears flowing.

As the continued their long embrace, Victor entered the room from the kitchen. "Surprise, honey!" He called to Raven.

"I do believe in miracles." Raven said as she continued her tearful embrace, remembering the words of Rich Daniels.

Raven and Tonya broke their embrace and held each others hands. "So what's that you said about miracles?" Tonya inquired of her daughter as they sniffed back tears.

"I told Chelsea and her parents how much I missed you and wished you were here." Raven explained. "And here you are."

Tonya gave Raven the warm motherly smile that Raven loved so much. Tonya then glanced out of the corner of her eye and remembered that Chelsea was standing there.

"Oh my God, Chelsea come here sweetheart!" Tonya stood up as Chelsea approached her and embraced her. "Oh, it's so good to see you!" Raven sat on the couch wiping her tears and smiling.

"Geez Mom, you look great! You took out your braids! Your hair is so long!" Raven looked at her mother in amazement.

"I actually got 3 inches cut off before I left. I didn't want your father to have a heart attack when he saw me."

"I bet he did anyway." Raven commented. "He loves long hair!"

"You darn right I did!" Victor eagerly added. "And look." Victor turning his head sideways trying glimpse his wife's backside as she sat on the couch. "She went and put a little pepperoni on that bread! Lookout Beyonce!"

"Victor, our child is sitting right here!" Tonya said to her husband with a touch of embarrassment.

At that same moment, Cory came into the room from the kitchen.

"Hey, you big cockroach!" Raven said to Cory smiling.

"What's up you fake Donna Karen wannabe!" Cory shot back as he walked over to the couch to hug his sister.

Everyone in the room was standing and smiling as the Baxter lovefest is in full gear. Victor, always one for hyperbole, made his declaration. "Well, the posse is back together again, saddled up for another ride!"

"Yeah Dad. All except Eddie." Raven lamented.

"Oh, how is he doing?" Tonya inquired.

"He's fine." Raven answered. "I feel kinda bad that I snapped at him this morning on the phone."

"Now why did you do that?" Tonya asked.

"I... " Raven shot a look over at Chelsea who looked at her with a perfect poker face. "... woke up on the wrong side of the bed I guess."

"Excuse me everyone." Victor said clapping his hands.

"Oh, Lord. Here's Sir Victor and one of his grand announcements." Raven said with exasperation, causing everyone to laugh.

"Tonight's dinner is a very special one with the return of the most beautiful woman on the planet to the Baxter household, Mrs. Tonya Baxter!" Everyone cheers and applauds. "It is also special for one other reason." Victor decided at this moment to use dramatic pause.

"Well? The suspense is killing me! What is it?" Chelsea shouted out.

Victor, standing in front of and to the side of the kitchen door, planted both feet shoulder width apart and shook himself. Raven was not the only one in the family that did impressions. Victor was about to channel the boxing announcer, Michael Buffer, the one that always says, "Let's Get Ready to Rum...blllllllllllllllle!"

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, now about to enter the living room from the kitchen... weighing in at 215 pounds... and coming from the School of Music in Philadelphia, Penn-syl-vani-aaaaaaa!..."

"You're kidding me!" Raven exclaimed as she and Chelsea stood up with mouths open.

Victor finished his introduction. "Eddieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Thom...aaaaaaaaaaas!"

The kitchen door flew open as the third member of the Three Amigos emerged. Chelsea and Raven screamed at the top of their lungs as they rushed Eddie almost tackling him as they embraced him in a group hug. Tears flowed from all three. Eddie's tears took him by surprise.

"Don't y'all tell nobody back in Philly that Big E cried." Eddie said as he swiped at his tears with his thumb in macho fashion.

"You know you just a big softy." Raven delivered a couple of quick jabs to Eddie's midsection.

"Yeah, a big, cuddly, wuddly, snuggly, huggly softy!" Chelsea delivering a classic "Chelsea-ism".

Raven just stared at Chelsea with a raised eyebrow.

Eddie looked at Chelsea and shook his head. "Yeah, it's good to be back home!"

"Now, the posse is ready to ride!" Victor issued the final edict. "Let's eat! We've got a lot of catching up to do!"

Everyone started filing into the kitchen. Raven, Chelsea and Eddie were the last ones to go in. A few steps before they crossed the threshold, Eddie leaned over to them.

"Y'all haven't..." Eddie started.

"Told them? No." Raven cut him off.

"We were going to tonight after dinner." Chelsea said.

"You want me and Cory to disappear for a while?" Eddie asked with genuine concern for their privacy and the sensitive nature of breaking the news to a teenager.

"No. Cory is a full member of this family and he has a right to be treated like it." Raven reasoned.

"Yeah, and we are glad you are here. We could use your moral support." Chelsea said to Eddie.

"I'm here for y'all. You know that." Eddie reassured. "And to prove it, I'm going to politely tell Chelsea to pull her turtle neck up just a little because her hickey is trying to peek out."

Chelsea blushed as she looked a Raven like she had spit on Piney Peterson.

Eddie looked at Raven and smirked. "You kinky stinky!"

"Hey guys, c'mon! Dinner's ready!" Victor called from the kitchen.

"Shut up, Biscuithead!" Raven shot back as she turned to go into the kitchen.

"I thought that was her nickname?" Eddie asked incredulously.

"Not anymore. It's Strawberry!" Chelsea whispered in Eddie's ear, then started giggling as she walked away.

"I don't EVEN want to know!" Eddie said out loud to no one in particular as he entered the kitchen.

Dinner conversation went back and forth at a mile-a-minute pace. They all had talked to one another on the phone in various combinations. However, there was something different about talking in person. Everyone exchanged information about the last year of their lives, with two notable exceptions; the last month and half of the love lives of Chelsea and Raven. During the rapid fire conversation, Raven and Chelsea would exchange awkward glances and half-smiles. They both had the same thought on their mind. There was going to be a question from someone that was going to start them down the inevitable road to discovery. They didn't know who, what or when. They just knew that it was going to happen. As the dinner moved along, they started to hash it out in their minds. They knew the inquiry wasn't coming from Eddie. He already knew. Knowing Victor's lack of comfort level with all things relationship related regarding Raven, it was a safe bet he wouldn't be the one. Cory, well, he could care less about Raven's love life. That left one person. They knew who was going to throw the switch, they were just waiting for the lights to shine.

"So the one thing I've missed not being here is the local gossip." Tonya said.

_"Here we go." _Raven thought to herself. Raven shot quick looks at both Eddie and Chelsea who acknowledged her look with their eyes.

"So who's up first? Who are ya dating and how cute are they?" Tonya begins the inquisition. "Not cute enough to keep y'all from studying though!"

Everybody looked at everybody else. No one was willing to step up first.

"Well, I have this new waitress at the Chill Grill..." Victor piped up.

"You shut up Victor! Tonya checked her husband, knowing that he was playing. Everyone got a good laugh from that one.

Eddie decided to lead off. "Alright, well there is this shorty I've been talkin' to back in Philly. Her name is LaTonya. The fellas call her 'The Sequel'."

Cory's curiosity was awakened. "Why do the call her 'The Sequel'?"

"J. Lo part two, my brotha! J. Lo part two!" Eddie bragged as he received a high-five from Cory.

"You sure it's not because she looks like Predator part four?" Raven answered back, more out of her desire to keep the conversation on Eddie as long as possible than to dig at Eddie. Eddie realized that and kept quiet.

"That's alright Ed." Cory consoled Eddie. "She's still mad 'cause she had to dress up like a mutant banana for the Sunshine Girls! Remember that?" Eddie and Cory started laughing hysterically. Chelsea even smirked at the thought of Raven in that bright yellow ensemble.

"Yeah, real funny Cory. Uh-huh." Raven going into her classic defense mode. "So who are you seeing now, huh? What's her last name, Jergens? Palm-er? Strokes, I mean Stokes?

Ooohs and Ahhhs came from all sides of the table. "That's cold, Rae." Cory nodded at Rae, staring daggers at her. "Real cold. Her name is Robin. She's in my homeroom and she is all mine."

"Good for you, baby." Tonya encouraged Cory. "Well, what about you Chelsea? Fess up! Who's the lucky guy?"

The moment of truth was at hand. There was a moment of silence that sounded like an eternity that last only about three seconds. Raven had decided in her mind to answer. She remembered what her mother once told her before she took off one of Raven's bandages, 'count to three then just yank it.' Pulling it off slowly only hurts more. It was Raven's house and she was going to take the first bullet.

"Mom, Chelsea and I are dating." Raven's words were a quick yank on the bandage.

Victor and Tonya looked at Raven with a confused and dumbfounded expression. "I know that you are dating." Tonya replied. "Y'all started dating before I left for England. I asked her who she was dating."

"Geez Rae, twice in two days, we can't get this right on the first try, Mrs. B... Raven and I are dating each other." Chelsea said in an exasperated tone, tired of parents not catching the news on the first try. Her bravado quickly disappeared the second she finished the sentence. Raven's eyes widened in shock that Chelsea let it loose. Not that Raven was mad, just shocked that Chelsea did an end around on Raven's attempt to draw the heat from her.

Another moment of silence began in the Baxter's kitchen as Chelsea's words hung in the air. Raven and Chelsea stopped breathing in that moment. Eddie turned his attention to the two of them, as did Cory. Tonya looked at her husband, then the girls, then dropped her head in pensive thought. Victor shook his head as if he were unclear as to what he had just heard.

"I'm sorry Chels, for a second there I thought you said that you and Raven were dating each other." Victor expressed his perceived lack of clarity.

"That is what she said Victor." Tonya responded to her husband's question. "Now I am sure that she and Raven will clarify this for us. Right?" Tonya's response sounded like the response of a prosecutor awaiting the explanation from a suspect.

"That's about as clear as we can make it. Chelsea and I are dating, an item, a couple. We have been dating secretly for a little over a month now." Raven began. She was surprised that she didn't feel the onset of tears. She also did not feel nervous like she did at the Daniels' house.

More silence at the table fell. There was tension in the air. To say that you could cut it with a knife would be an understatement. There were six sets of swirling emotions at that table. No one at the table was prepared for such a conversation, not even Chelsea and Raven. Questions needed to be asked and answered.

"How... uh... did... you two... uh... what I mean is... uh..." Victor tried to ask a question before his thoughts were fully formed.

Tonya cut Victor's rambling off. "Your father is trying to ask you how this started... But first, Cory, would you please step into the living room while..."

"No, Mom. Cory is a member of this family. He should hear this too." Raven lobbied as she looked at Cory with a smile, which he returned. "Chelsea and I started developing feelings beyond our normal friendship about two months ago. A lot of outside pressures made us individually re-examine how we felt about each other and it eventually led to us coming together."

Tonya sat perfectly still as she studied the girls intently, as if she were studying witnesses that she had to cross-examine. Victor still had an incredulous look on his face.

"But, the guys that you two have dated. Were they that bad that you had to turn away from them altogether?" Victor asked, trying to make sense of this news.

"It's not so much about the guys that we have dated." Chelsea responded. "It's more about you as a person figuring out who in your life makes you the most happy. Who is the first person you think about when you wake up. The last person that you think about when you go to sleep at night."

"Yeah, who makes you feel warm and tingly inside when you think about spending time with them. The person that makes you feel special." Raven added. "For me, that's Chelsea."

"Wow. Uh... I don't know what to say about that... uh..." Tonya was now at a loss for words.

"Well I know what I have to say about it!" Cory cut his mother off in a loud and abrupt way.

"Cory, maybe you should wait..." Tonya suggested.

"No, Mom, It's ok. I want to hear what he has to say." Raven said.

"I'm not really cool with girls dating each other, I mean, I see that going on all the time in my school and they can be real triflin' with it sometimes." Cory started.

"Oh. Ok." Raven said, disappointed that her brother wasn't in her corner.

"No, but see, the two of you are different. I mean, y'all have known each other for ever and... I'm saying... How much closer can y'all get without dating?" Cory continued. "I guess what I'm tryin' to say is that if y'all want to be together, I'm cool with it... At least Chelsea is the prettiest boyfriend you've had." The last statement made Chelsea smile.

Raven, who was sitting across from the table from Cory, looked at him and smiled from her heart. "Thank you Cory. I love you."

"Yeah, I love you too. You're still a fake Donna Karen wannabe... and you're still my sister, no matter who you date." Cory reassured his sister.

Victor still had a look of confusion etched on his face. "Dad?" Raven asked, worried about her father's silence.

"I can't do this right now." Victor stood up and started for the back door.

"Wait a minute, we need to talk about this!" Raven pleaded with her father, afraid that he is abandoning her in a moment of need.

"Victor, we do need to talk this out." Tonya tried to talk him back.

"I can't talk right now because I am afraid of what I might say." Victor replied as he grabbed his keys and coat. "I've got thoughts going around in my head and they are not nice. So I am going to spare the feelings of my daughter and "her girlfriend" right now and collect myself. I'll see you later." Victor then headed out the door, slamming it behind him.

The slamming door caused Raven and Chelsea to jump and Tonya to drop her head. They had never known Victor Baxter to walk out of a family discussion. Tonya stared at the back door for a moment or two. Chelsea, Eddie and Cory sat frozen. Raven dropped her head and began to silently cry.

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**Chapter 19 is on the way. Thank you so much for staying with me. Please stay tuned and please review!**


	19. Still Cloudy

**DISCLAIMER: ****Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Warren-Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

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**Thunderstorms**

_**Chapter 19**_

**Still Cloudy**

The sniffling of Raven's tears caused Tonya's head to snap around. She looked at her forlorn daughter for a moment.

"Guys, could I please talk to Raven and Chelsea alone, please?" Tonya to Cory and Eddie.

"Sure, Mrs. B. C'mon, Cory." Eddie motioned to Cory and they went upstairs to Cory's room.

"Let's go into the living room." Tonya said to the girls as she picked up a near-limp Raven and stood her on her feet. The three of them went into the living room. The girls sat down on either side of Tonya.

"In all the years I've known you..." Tonya said as she touched her forehead to Raven's. "...you have never done things the easy way." Tonya was attempting to comfort her daughter. She straightened up then turned her attention to Chelsea. "And you have always been right there in lock step with her... What am I gonna do with y'all?"

Raven was attempting to dry her tears. "You - you're not mad at us?" She said to her mother.

"No baby. I'd be mad if you were pregnant, or had an STD or flunked out of school." Tonya said as she put her arms around both of them. "This, well, I am... concerned."

"There is nothing to be concerned about. We love each other." Chelsea said coming to Raven's aid.

"That, I have no doubt about." Tonya responded. "I am not going to sit here and ask you if you are infatuated or experimenting or anything like that because I have a feeling that this isn't something you are trying just for the heck of it." Raven and Chelsea looked at each other. "I do want to ask you two a question."

"Ok." They both said.

"Are you sure that you really know what it is you are getting into?" Tonya asked. "This is a nasty world out there for people that are perceived to be normal." The girls looked at Tonya with a wounded look when she used the term 'perceived to be normal'. She picked up on that. "Let me clarify that. Many people don't believe that gay people are normal. Their wiring is crossed up. They are possessed by evil spirits. They have been emotionally abused. They are confused. They haven't met the right person yet. The list of so-called reasons and explanations goes on and on."

Raven and Chelsea listened intently to Tonya as she continued to school them. "Look, I don't know how long you plan to be together in this relationship. But I do know that as long as you are together, you had better develop a thick skin because you never know where and when comments are going to come from." Tonya continued. "I know because at one time I had to deal with them myself."

Two sets of jaws dropped. Two pairs of eyes widened to the point of nearly bulging out of their skulls with Tonya's last sentence.

"Mom, you had a girlfriend?" asked a shell-shocked Raven.

"In college, sophomore year. Her name was Michelle. We were roommates. We started getting close after her boyfriend was killed by a drunk driver. One night, we were letting off steam and… well, the steam just kind of… boiled over." Tonya revealed to the surprise of her young audience. "We tried to deny it, but we eventually came to terms with what happened and decided to give a relationship a try."

"What happened after that year?" Chelsea asked.

"Well, she transferred before our junior year, I didn't hear from her again and then that spring, I met Raven's father." Tonya explained. "The rest, as they say, was history." "So when I say I know what you are going through I do. The only difference is that I never told my parents or my friends."

"No one found out?" Raven asked.

"No. Not even your father. As far as I was concerned it was in the past, a memory of my own and none of his business."

Eddie emerged from the kitchen and interrupted the conversation. "Excuse me y'all. Rae, do you still have your keys to The Chill Grill?"

"Yeah, Eddie, why?"

"I want to talk to your father and I think he might be there."

"I don't know if that's a good idea." Raven worried.

"It's ok. I've learned how to talk to him. It'll be a guy-to-guy talk. I'll be ok." Eddie said as he motioned with his hands for Raven's keys.

Raven took her key off the key ring and handed it to Eddie. "Be careful."

"I will." Eddie started toward the front door. "Oh, by the way…" He turned and came back over to the couch where Raven and Chelsea were seated. He leaned over, starting with Raven, and gave both of them a peck on the lips. "Congratulations, again. I'm happy for you." He headed out the door, on his way to The Chill Grill.

Raven looked over at Chelsea. "If I ever break up with you, I'm gettin' with him, you know that right?" Raven teased.

"Stand in line, sister!" Chelsea shot back as the three women shared a laugh.

"So, when I talked to you a couple of weeks ago and you said you had a hot date…" Tonya started.

"Chelsea. We were going out that night." Raven answered before Tonya finished.

"And your cell phone dying…"

"An excuse to get off the phone so you wouldn't ask about my date." Raven cut Tonya off again.

"So when you snapped at Eddie on the phone…"

"He interrupted our date."

"At eight in the morning?" Tonya had Raven backed into a verbal corner. "What kind of date… never mind."

Raven was a little flustered as she attempted a cover, knowing there was little chance it would work. "We just woke up and Chelsea's mom had fixed breakfast and we…"

"Raven?" Tonya put her hand up to her mouth and turned the imaginary lock, signaling to Raven that her explanation wouldn't work so she shouldn't even bother.

"Chelsea, how are your parents with this?" Tonya inquired about her friends.

"Still adjusting, but accepting." Chelsea explained. "They feel like if I had to date a girl, it might as well be someone they know and trust. My mother described our lunch today as a double date. My father even gave Raven his boyfriend speech."

Tonya laughed. "Your parents never cease to amaze me."

"I feel the same way." Raven smiled, remembering how kind and loving they were to her. Her face changed when her thoughts shifted to her father. Tonya was able to read her daughter's expression.

"Thinking about your father?"

"Yeah. The way he just stormed out of here, I mean, I didn't…"

"I've only seen him do that one other time, when his best friend died a few years ago. He's scared." Tonya recalled. "Maybe Eddie can help him talk things out."

Raven looked at her mother and Chelsea. At that moment she was pulled into another vision.

**(VISION)**

_**Victor: You don't know what you're talking about Eddie, why don't you worry about yourself and let me figure this out.**_

_**Eddie: I do know what I'm talking about. You figuring this out is all well and good, but you left your daughter in tears back at the house, and that's fucked up Mr. B.**_

Victor approached Eddie and stands face-to-face with him.

_**Victor: Just who in the hell do you think you are talking to?**_

Eddie, taking issue with Victor's aggressive stance, cranks his attitude up a notch.

_**Eddie: I'm talking to an insensitive sonofabitch that managed to break his daughter's heart without listening to what's in it.**_

**(END OF VISION)**

"OH SNAP!" Raven screaming out her classic exclamation. "We've got to get to The Chill Grill!"

"What's wrong, Rae?" Chelsea asked with worry. "What was in your vision?"

"Eddie and Dad are going to exchange some nasty words and it doesn't look pretty." Raven panicked.

"Are they going to fight?" Tonya asked as the three of them grabbed their coats.

"I don't know, I couldn't tell. The vision ended before I could see it." Raven said.

"We'll take my car. It can fly." Tonya said pulling out the keys to the rented Infiniti.

Chelsea snatched the keys from her. "Thanks Tonya. I've got this one covered."

Tonya looked at Raven in disbelief as they headed for the door. "She watches too much Viva La Bam, but she can drive the hell out of a fast car!" Raven told her mother as Chelsea was already in the driver's seat cranking up the car.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Tonya mumbled under her breath as she walked down the steps.

As they got in, Tonya had one simple request for Chelsea. "Chels? I have another year left in England. I just want to go back in one piece."

"No problem, Mrs B." Chelsea assured a now slightly nervous Tonya.

Chelsea slowly backed out of the driveway, and then peeled out onto the street in such a way that would have made Danica Patrick proud.

Eddie opened the front door to The Chill Grill. The main restaurant was lit only by the light coming from the main office. He called out to Victor.

"Mr. B!" Eddie waited several seconds but got no response. "Mr. B, it's Eddie!" Still no response. Eddie made his way back to the office and found Raven's father reclining on the leather sofa, massaging his shaven head with one hand, staring into space.

Victor's mind carried him back to simpler times. Playing tea party in the backyard with Raven and Chelsea. Teaching Raven how to ride a bike. Watching her fall off the bike, get back on and fall again and again. Graduations; grade school, middle school, high school. The pride that he had for his daughter and the understanding that he thought he had of her. He couldn't understand this however. His only daughter just announced to him that she was a lesbian.

His first clear thought was what did he and Tonya do wrong? The answer he was seeking was the answer he couldn't find. He wanted to find fault in himself. He wanted to be able to rationalize it by saying that he failed her somehow. He couldn't. It was becoming clear to him that he didn't fail her. She got closer to her best friend than he would have liked. He knows that he can't do anything about it. Yelling, grounding, attempting to "reason" with her would serve no purpose. Victor Baxter was scared. He feared the unknown. He feared offending her or Chelsea. He feared how his family would be affected by outsiders.

He was still trying to process all of these things in his mind when Eddie came to the door.

"Hey, Mr. B. I thought you'd be here."

Victor emerged from his fog and turned his head to Eddie. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to talk to you about Raven." Eddie replied.

"I really don't have anything to say right now to anybody." Victor shifted on the couch to an upright position.

Eddie walked over to the desk and pulled up a chair, sitting in it backwards facing Victor. "This has been really tough on Raven and Chelsea. Not being able to say anything has been eating them up inside."

Victor looked at Eddie but had no response, dropping his head. Eddie continued. "They just wanted the people closest to them know how happy they are and why."

"How long have you known about them?" Victor started the question with his head down, lifting his head in mid-sentence.

"Rae told me how she felt a little over a month ago, right before they started dating."

"And I guess you told her to go for it, huh?" Victor snapped. "Hey, you got these funny feelings for your best friend? Yeah, just go for it! Don't consider your family's feelings, friends, neighbors, the way people on the street will look at you!"

"I told my friend, who was having a difficult time sorting out her feelings, to go with her heart." Eddie said with annoyance in his voice. "Her love for Chelsea has really grown."

"Love? What does she know about love? She's only 20 years old?"

"Let's see, she has love for her parents, her friends, her brother, her talent as a designer, her psychic abilities and her girlfriend, who by the way, she learned to love as her best friend first!" Eddie shot back, his frustration with Victor beginning to bubble to the surface.

Chelsea, Raven and Tonya pulled up to The Chill Grill and saw both Victor and Eddie's cars out front. They looked inside and saw only a faint light toward the back and figured that they were in the office. They pulled around to the back to the other entrance.

"Look, don't just go barging in. That's not going to help matters right now, ok?" Tonya said to the young women, with her words directed more toward Raven then Chelsea.

"Ok." Chelsea said. Raven simply nodded her head.

The women slipped in the back door into the small storage area just outside the office. They tucked themselves off to the side and were able to peek inside the office through one of the sidelight panels without being seen.

"C'mon, man! We're not talking about two little girls that said to each other 'You're cute. Let's go try what we saw on TV last night.' We're talking about..." Victor said.

Eddie cut Victor off. "We're talking about two beautiful, intelligent young women that have found what they know to be true love in each other."

"Yes, they are two beautiful young women." Victor replied. "But frankly, I am not sure just how intelligent I consider them to be right now."

Raven's jaw tightened when she heard her father question her intelligence. She felt like loving Chelsea is one of the smartest things she has done to that point in her life. She also took offense to him or anyone questioning Chelsea's intelligence. She knew how smart, sexy, thoughtful and beautiful Chelsea was.

Eddie felt his blood begin to boil. "See, that's exactly the kind of crap they don't need right now. They wanted to let the people that are closest to them know why they are so happy. This has already been difficult for them and they know the road ahead ain't any easier!"

"Eddie, I don't need this from you right now!" Victor shot back as he turned his back to Eddie.

Eddie stepped forward. "Well right now it doesn't matter what you, me, Cory, your wife or anybody else needs! What matters most is what Raven and Chelsea need. And what they need right now is our love and support. They need you to listen to them. Even if you don't agree with them, at least respect their choice and love your daughter for who she is."

Victor slowly turned to face Eddie. Several seconds passed before he spoke in a calm voice. "Look Eddie. You have been a great friend to Raven and Chelsea for as long as I can remember. You love them and care for them, and I can respect and appreciate that." Victor continued. "But I am Raven's father and while she is a young woman that can think for herself, I still believe that I, along with her mother, know what's best for her... And I'm telling you that in the long run, this is not it."

Eddie was now completely pissed off, feeling like this man that he looked up to was patronizing him. "If you keep goin' with that attitude all you're gonna do is completely fuck up your relationship with your daughter, then what are you gonna do?"

"Eddie, I understand this is an emotional time for all of us right now, so I'm gonna let that slip of the tongue slide." Victor doing his best to maintain his cool. He considered himself to have a long fuse, but once ignited, he was capable of exploding.

"No, MISTER BAXTER, That wasn't a slip of the tongue, I was making a point. You could lose your daughter if you don't talk to her about this. This is her life. She is in love. She wants you to be happy about it. What? You'd rather have her in a shitty relationship with a guy then a loving, productive one with a girl? I know which one I'd choose for her!"

Raven sensed that the beginning of her vision was at hand. She was right. Tonya and Chelsea knew it too.

Victor reached the end of his conversational rope with Eddie. "You don't know what you're talking about Eddie, why don't you worry about yourself and let me figure this out."

"I do know what I'm talking about. You figuring this out is all well and good, but you left your daughter in tears back at the house, and that's fucked up Mr. B." Eddie's reply was sharp, quick and his second use of the f-bomb in mere minutes was not appreciated.

In Victor's mind, it no longer mattered that Eddie was 20 years younger than him and that he had been the closest thing to a second son to him. He had been disrespected in an adult manner and was intent on correcting Eddie in an adult fashion. Victor's jaw practically locked as he took three menacing steps toward Eddie stopping less than an inch from his nose.

"Just who in the hell do you think you are talking to?" Victor's eyes narrowed and turned cold.

Raven felt her heart stop. She had never heard her father talk to anyone like that. Now he was nose-to-nose with her best platonic friend looking like he was ready to throw blows. She started to want to stand up. Tonya grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her back down. Tonya knew her husband. She knew he wouldn't go that far.

Eddie wasn't a fighter either. But he had a man standing in front of him that he believed was dead wrong for walking away from his daughter. His heart really wasn't willing to resort to physicality, but he would if he had to. His response to Victor's question reflected that feeling.

"I'm talking to an insensitive sonofabitch that managed to break his daughter's heart without listening to what's in it!" Eddie turned to sit down on the couch. "This is some bullshit!" Eddie muttered to himself.

Raven, Tonya and Chelsea were frozen in place terrified. They did not expect Eddie's last response. They looked at Victor who was frozen in place, barely even blinking.

Eddie's words cut him deeply. He didn't want to break his daughter's heart. He loved her too much. He wanted her to be happy. He always considered himself to be sensitive, especially where Raven was concerned.

Victor looked at Eddie, who was still seething as he sat on the couch. "Son of a bitch, huh?" Victor inquired with and eerie calm. He started toward Eddie's position on the couch. The women outside the door all stood to their feet, ready to fly through the door at a moment's notice. Eddie didn't move_. "If the old man wants to make a move on a man that's sitting, then that's on him_." Eddie thought to himself.

Victor walked up to Eddie, stood for a moment, then plopped himself down on the couch next to him. "She doesn't need a son of a bitch in her life right now, huh?"

Eddie looked at a now contrite-looking Victor and felt himself calming down. "I shouldn't have said that. That was disrespectful. I'm sorry."

"Disrespectful, yes. Accurate and called for, yes. Don't sweat it. I've been called worse by men that couldn't hold a candle to you. You're a good young man." Victor conceded. "I'm still not comfortable with her having a same sex relationship." Victor admitted to Eddie. "I don't know when or if I will."

"Then tell her that. You owe her that much. She won't like it, but she'll at least respect you for your opinion. I mean, right now, she thinks you just ran out on her." Eddie informed Victor.

"I'd never run out on her. She's..." Victor felt tears begin to form. "She's my baby."

Raven looked at both Tonya and Chelsea and took a deep breath to keep herself from crying.

"Tell her that. She needs her daddy to listen to her." Eddie said.

Defying her mother's words, like Tonya knew she eventually would, Raven opened the office door. "She needs to listen to her daddy too." Raven said to the very surprised men standing in the office.

"How long..." Victor started.

"Long enough to tell you that I'm glad the two of you didn't start throwin' blows." Eddie and Victor looked at each other wondering what if. "Y'all would look like two water buffalos wrestling in here." The three of them cracked a slight smile at that comment. Victor walked over to Raven and stopped about a foot away from her.

"Rae, I'm not going to stand here and say that I even begin to understand what's going on with you right now, how you feel or anything. I don't believe in same sex relationships and I can't promise you if or when I will get used to yours." Victor explained. Raven stood perfectly still as she looked at her father, the only movement was the occasional blinking of her eyes. "What I will stand here and say is that I love you. Your are my daughter. And I love Chelsea as your best friend. She has been the closest thing you have had to a sister all these years. I will not disrespect you or Chelsea and I will not make you feel uncomfortable in our home."

"That's a start. That's all I can ask right now." Raven said. "Chelsea and I won't disrespect you either. We'll make sure of that."

"I know you will." Victor looked at his daughter with a look of warmth that she desperately wanted to see. "So what did your mother say to you?"

"I told her to be careful." Tonya said as she and Chelsea emerged from the shadows. "There are some nasty people out there that don't even try to understand." Tonya walked over to her husband and put her arm around his waist. "I've... seen a few things in my life that I shared with them. They listened..." She glanced at Chelsea and Raven, who returned the look of mutual understanding, knowing Tonya's secret. "... and I hope they learned."

"Tonya, I..."

"I know. We'll talk when we get home. I might have been gone for a year, but I still know you." Tonya told her husband.

Victor walked over to Chelsea. "Chelsea, I am sorry that I stormed out during dinner. Regardless of how I might have felt, I shouldn't have done that to you." He looked at Raven as he spoke his next sentence. "Will you forgive me?"

"As long as you forgive me for putting that frog in your toilet when I was 9, then I forgive you." Chelsea said attempting to lighten the mood a little.

"I had a feeling that was you! That's why I never punished Raven for it." Victor recalled.

"Well... he needed a place to swim! And it was so nice and clean in there!" Chelsea reasoned.

"I guess it wasn't Dad's four alarm chili night that night, huh?" Raven assuming the reason for the clean toilet bowl. Everyone laughed. "Any chance we can go home now? It's been a long day and the dogs are barkin'! WOOF, WOOF!" Raven said as she took one of her heels off to rub her foot.

"Sure let's go." Victor said, releasing everyone from the inpromptu meeting. "Uh... Tonya... why don't you stay with the girls tonight and I'll bunk with Cory."

"Victor..." Tonya was about to ask him if that was necessary.

"No, Mom. It's cool." Raven looked at her father with a look of understanding. "We haven't done that for a long time. I've got some movies in my bag. We can make it a girls' night."

"Yeah! And I'll make some of my world famous popcorn!" Chelsea enthusiastically added.

"Uh... No!" Both Tonya and Raven exclaimed at the same time.

"I don't mean any harm Sweetheart but if I recall..." Tonya remembering her last encounter with Chelsea's "world famous" snack. "... you don't pop all the kernels. I almost broke a tooth."

"Preach, black woman!" Raven agreed. Chelsea pouted.

"Then how about smoothies?" Chelsea countered.

"If they're as good as your mother's then I'm in!" Tonya said, now satisfied with Chelsea's selection.

"Well, I'm going home." Eddie announced. "I'll catch y'all tomorrow for that big Sunday breakfast!" As he went around the room hugging everyone.

"Wait a minute!" Victor said. "Who said anything about a big Sunday breakfast?"

"C'mon, Mr. B! Who are you kidding?" Eddie checked Victor. Everyone else looked at Victor in anticipation, knowing he loved cooking Sunday breakfast.

"Nine o'clock." Victor droned in a defeated tone as everyone cheered. "Not a minute late or we're starting without you!" He yelled to Eddie as he headed out the door.

"The more things change..." Tonya said as she looked at Chelsea and Raven, who exchanged a quick wink.

"Yeah." Victor said as he took one more look at Chelsea and Raven. "Come here." He said to them with outstretched arms as they ran over to embrace him.

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**I know. It's a little bit of a Mary-Sue ending for this chapter, but Victor is still not 100 percent on board with the girls' relationship and Tonya is still very cautious. I welcome your thoughts. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	20. The Perfect Storm

**DISCLAIMER: ****Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Warren-Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.**

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**Thunderstorms**

_**Chapter 20**_

**The Perfect Storm**

The Baxter household was dead silent. It was early Sunday morning around 1 a.m. when a light steady rain began to fall in the greater San Francisco area. The Baxters are notorious sound sleepers. Victor, Cory and Raven have to sometimes be startled out of a deep sleep. Tonya learned to re-condition herself since moving to England. In her sleep, her mind would race with legal precedents and case law. She would get some of her best ideas fresh out of a slumbering session. However, being back home seemed to bring out the old sleeping habits in Tonya. The events of the evening seemed to wipe everyone out. Everyone that is except Chelsea. It was raining. That was her time. It soothes her. She was tempted to give Raven the nickname "Rain", until she remembered that Raven did more to excite her than soothe her at any given moment.

Chelsea, Raven and Tonya were sleeping in Raven's basement room/apartment/boudoir. Like a sixth sense, Chelsea's body sensed that rain was falling and awakened her. She got up and went to the living room window to get a better view. She had her favorite chartreuse silk PJ's on with matching slippers and a fluffy terrycloth bathrobe untied at the waist. She stared out into the night and allowed her thoughts to consume her.

(Chelsea's POV)

This has been some kind of weekend. Telling my parents about us, making love in public, Raven's mom coming home, telling her parents, the episode at The Chill Grill. Wow! My mind is still spinning. The way Rae stood by my side with my parents and stood firm with her's was... (she wipes away a tear) amazing! I didn't think I could love her anymore than I did before this weekend started but I do.

I know that we have been with each other a lot lately, but I really wish Rae's dad hadn't flipped all the sleeping arrangements. I really need to be close to her right now. I just want to melt into her arms and not move... ok, maybe move a little.. ok, a lot! The last time it rained like this we weren't together and I couldn't share this with her.

God, what I would give to have...

"Mmmmm." Chelsea murmured in a low purr as she was slowly pulled from her thoughts by a warm, soft pair of arms sliding around her waist and a familiar heat-radiating body pressed against her back.

"Something tells me you wanted that." Raven whispered to Chelsea as she rested her head on Chelsea's shoulder.

Chelsea leaned her head back and to the side, resting it on Raven's as she continued to look out the window at the rain. Neither of them spoke for a minute or so. They just stood and enjoyed the rain.

(Raven's POV)

I woke up and Chelsea was gone. I heard the rain outside the window and I knew she was somewhere in the house enjoying it. I so love this girl. I had to find her. My parents and Cory are in this house right now, otherwise I would be somewhere in here making love to her. My father's lukewarm reception aside, things couldn't have turned out better. I am just so... (feeling herself start to choke up) Wow! I am just so full right now. I had to find her. I just... had to find her.

Chelsea was the first to break the silence. "I was standing here, wishing that I could be close to you tonight."

"Well, wishes do come true." Raven replied simply.

"You know it rained like this the weekend we..." Chelsea started.

"I know. But it was thundering outside. This is more peaceful." Raven offered.

"Yeah. Serene." Chelsea offering her description.

Raven glanced at Chelsea's pajama set, the one that she had bought for her. Perfect size, fit, color, everything. "You must really love these pajamas. You wear them every chance you get."

"I love everything you've ever given me. You gave me that frog, remember?"

"Yeah... I did. I didn't touch it though! Eckhhh!" Raven recalled.

"I still don't believe you didn't tell your father that I put him in the toilet."

"I didn't want you to get in trouble. " Raven said as she could feel Chelsea smile. "And you know what? I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I don't want anything to ever happen to you." Raven said as she nuzzled her nose into Chelsea's neck.

"Don't do that, Rae." Chelsea warned.

"What?" Rae asked looking somewhat puzzled.

Chelsea turned her head slightly. "I am in a warm and fuzzy mood right now."

"I wasn't trying to..."

"I know. It's more me than you." Chelsea admitted.

"It's the rain, huh?" Raven knew her girl.

"The rain and you holding me like this." Chelsea did a 360 and was now facing Raven. She noticed that Raven was illuminated only by the street light coming in through the window. At that angle, she caught a perfect gleam of hazel in Raven's eyes.

"Why do you have to be so beautiful?" Chelsea asked as she cocked her head to one side, still looking at Raven's hazel eyes.

"Funny. I was going to ask you the same thing." Raven responded.

"You know you had that same outfit on the night we had our fight?" Chelsea said as she scanned Raven up and down her hands still wrapped around Raven's waist. Raven did indeed have on a similar white cotton tank top, black sweatpants with pink racing stripes and fluffy pink slippers. Raven smiled then decided to move away from Chelsea, feeling that temperatures are beginning to rise to unsafe levels.

Raven broke the embrace and walked over to the couch, kicked her bedroom shoes off and sat facing the door, her feet tucked underneath her. Chelsea walked over near the couch and stopped in front of where Raven was sitting.

"Can I ask you a question?" Chelsea inquired.

Sensing a serious tone, Raven turned her body and was now facing Chelsea. The silk pajama-clad beauty took a step forward and then dropped onto the couch on her knees straddling Raven and just gazed at her. Raven caught a lump in her throat but recovered before she spoke.

"So what's your question, Chels? Raven used the short version of her name on purpose. Over the last month or so, she has only used Chelsea's full first name in the throes of passion. Calling her Chels was normal and more like a regular girlfriend. She was not trying to go where she thought they might be headed with three other Baxters asleep in the house.

Chelsea's reply to Raven's question was a simple one word question. "Please?" Chelsea asked the question as she began to unbutton her pajama top.

"No." Raven did not want to get caught.

"Please? I'll be quiet. I promise." Chelsea quietly pleaded.

"No. Mom's downstairs, Dad and Cory are upstairs." Raven slid her hands underneath her to prevent them from roaming.

"Please, baby, I need you." Chelsea said this with an almost pained expression on her face as she bounced once and slightly squirmed.

"Chels, I don't want to get caught. Not here, by any of them." Raven protested. Her defenses were severely weakened though. Chelsea's last plea rocked her.

"Rae..." Chelsea's voice was barely audible. "I know that you don't want to get caught. I don't either. But this rain, this warm dark house, the love that I feel in my heart for you right now..." Raven felt herself begin to tremble. "...your warm honey colored body are all making me ache for your touch." Raven closed her eyes trying to tune Chelsea out, only to find herself being pulled in. Chelsea leaned in close enough that Raven could feel her breathing. "This isn't Strawberry... This is Chelsea. Please?"

They slowly and methodically brought their lips together and met for what was the slowest, sweetest yet most sensual kiss they had shared to date. The feeling of this kiss was so overwhelming that it made both of them quiver. Raven slid her hands from beneath her and brought them to rest around Chelsea's waist. Neither one of them wanted to expend any energy that might take away from the breathtaking electricity of the kiss. They broke apart with the faintest smack of the lips as the signal that they were free. Chelsea, still straddling Raven, sat wide-eyed as she licked her bottom lip. Raven looked at Chelsea with sheer amazement. Chelsea slowly took Raven's head in her hands and kissed her again, same methodical nature, same electrifying result.

Chelsea slowly pulled back and sat straight up. Her gaze never left Raven as she undid the last two buttons on her top. Raven reached for her waist as her hands met Chelsea's warm skin. She pulled Chelsea back to her and continued the kiss. She ran her hands up and down the smooth expanse of Chelsea's back causing Chelsea to shudder. Chelsea then slid off of Raven and lay down on the sofa, her head propped by a single pillow.

Raven looked at her for a moment. Her top was open, exposing her breasts. Her breathing was heavy and ragged. She had a wide-eyed look of innocence wrapped in nervousness and anticipation. This setting was somehow familiar to her. Raven's mind flipped through it's visual movie and TV index, then made the connection. Angela Hayes. The cheerleader from American Beauty that was played so convincingly by Mena Suvari. The scene where Kevin Spacey's Lester is about to make love to the object of his desire as she lay on the couch breathlessly, nervously anticipating his next move. In the movie, Angela proclaimed that she was a virgin, shattering Lester's illusion of a forbidden rendezvous. There would be no such proclamation here. Raven's illusion was not about to be shattered.

Raven lowered herself on top of Chelsea and began another round of slow, painfully erotic kissing. Every time Chelsea looked at Raven's face, she wanted to cry. She was filled with emotion. Raven didn't fully realize this until she broke away from Chelsea's lips and started making her way down her collarbone. As Raven reached the swells of Chelsea's breasts, she felt a couple of sobs that caused her to look up and see tears streaming from Chelsea's eyes.

"Are you ok?"

"Yes, baby, please don't stop." Chelsea choked out. "I love you so much... Oh God!" She said after a couple of more sobs.

The full weight of Chelsea's emotion hit Raven as she immediately began silently crying as she lowered herself and began kissing Chelsea's breasts. Raven continued downward through her sobs until she reached Chelsea's navel. Then Chelsea reached down and put her index finger under Raven's chin, lifting her head up.

"Come here." Chelsea whispered out.

Raven slid up the length of Chelsea's body lifting her torso up just high enough for Chelsea to lift her tank top over her breasts but not over her head. Chelsea was surprised to find that Raven wasn't wearing a bra. Chelsea took one nipple into her mouth as she slid Raven closer to her. Her hands followed the small of Raven's back over the curve of her buttocks until she found wetness. As she slid one finger in, Raven buried her face in the pillow that Chelsea's head was on. Even though it was muffled, Chelsea could hear her cry out.

Raven threw two of the back pillows off the couch and Chelsea slid in that direction, enabling Raven to shift off center with falling on the floor. Chelsea reached inside Raven's sweatpants with her right hand and continued to stroke Raven. Raven, now face-to-face with Chelsea resumed kissing her slowly as she reached inside Chelsea's pajama bottoms and did the same for her.

The two engaged in a slow, deliberate rhythmic harmony as they brought each other closer to orgasm. They softly moaned as they continued, careful not to get too loud. This silent dance seemed to heighten the intensity of their actions as there was no where for the release of emotion to go. So it doubled back on itself, continuing to build. They stopped kissing and were now breathing heavily into each other's ear.

All previous worries about getting caught had long since melted away. The rain outside started to come down a little harder. The patter of the rain on the front steps could be heard from the living room. It was the next best thing to making love in the rain. Tears of ecstasy once again began to flow from Chelsea as the feeling inside her grew more intense. As Raven buried her face in the crook of Chelsea's neck, she felt teardrops slide onto her face causing her to lift her head and look at Chelsea. Normally, she hated to see Chelsea cry. At this moment, however, it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Her clear view of Chelsea's ecstasy was short-lived as her own tears began to fall. This was the most intense feeling they had ever experienced; physical and emotional nirvana at the same time.

"I... want... to... look at you." Chelsea managed to stammer. Raven complied as she slowly lifted her head, her hair, dark, thick and untamed. Chelsea could see even in the dimly lit living room that Raven's eyes were blazing. They weren't dark like the other times they had been together. There was a bright almost-twinkle. Raven noticed the same thing about Chelsea. Her eyes seemed to lighten to this almost mystical shade of brown that she had never seen. The moment they saw this look in each other's eyes was the moment they had been waiting for. The pressure that had been building up inside each of them reached it's release point simultaneously. They didn't have to try to time it. No one had to wait for the other person. Their eyes locked on each other and would not let go. They pressed their bodies as close together as humanly possible, as if they were trying to fuse their bodies into one. Raven was able to slam her face into the pillow when the wave of her orgasm washed over her, absorbing her cry of pleasure. Chelsea, with no pillow near to muffle her, gasped as if she were trying to suck all air from the room as she turned her face toward Raven's ear, hoping that would mute the series of breathless, staccato pants that were coming from her. That also enabled Raven to clearly hear Chelsea's cry.

They lay there for several moments as their bodies relaxed. Raven lifted her head and gazed at her Chelsea. Her eyes were big, brown, still moist from the previous round of tears and the next round that were on the way.

"You're my heart. You know that." Raven said as a tear found it's way down her cheek.

"And you're my soul." Chelsea barely eked out before she began sobbing almost uncontrollably.

Raven felt a wave of sobs overtake her like she had never experienced before as she planted yet another sweet, salty kiss on Chelsea's lips. She lifted herself off Chelsea as they both sat upright on the couch and embraced each other sobbing. The emotions were so strong. The love, the solidarity, the unity, the tenderness, the respect, the admiration, the attraction they have for each other came out in their tears in a way that they didn't even on the night they first made love.

In those moments, they felt more together then they had at any point in their lifelong friendship. Their hearts were completely open and vulnerable to one another. That's what made their first night so special. That's what made this night so special. It wasn't planned. It just happened. The first night was a flash flood. The rainfall was sudden and intense. The thunderstorm was violent and unpredictable. This night, all of the conditions were in place. The gentle, soothing rainfall. Two willing open hearts. Emotions that were so overwhelming that their two hearts overflowed.

Thunderstorms. They're raw… unpredictable… dangerous… scary… sometimes deadly. They're also … awe inspiring… powerful… breathtaking. The lightning generated inside them can up the whole sky in a flash.

Thunderstorm? No. On this night, Raven and Chelsea navigated their way through... the perfect storm.

_**The End**_

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**There is a short chapter of special thanks after this. Please read it, after you have reviewed the final chapter of Thunderstorms. Thank you.**


	21. Special Thanks

**My Personal Thank You to All of You**

Hey Everyone,

This is LaughLoveLive aka Triple L, the author of the story you just read. Before I go I wanted to personally thank each and everyone that followed this story to the end. This was my first fan fic ever and I had an absolute blast! Your reviews encouraged and inspired me to continue writing. I only intended for this story to be a few chapters. I never expected to have 20 chapters and over 46,000 words written. I felt like it was time to end it and I didn't want to leave y'all hanging, wondering if it is going to be updated. Well, here is the definitive word, **Thunderstorms** is complete.

But don't for one second think that you have heard the last of Triple L. There will be several stories coming down the pike soon. If you are a Raven fan, I've got a couple of ideas rattling around in the ol' nugget. But there are also a couple of other shows I'm looking to "Triple Fic" as it were. Fans of **Law and Order, Law and Order: SVU and Ugly Betty**, your shows (They're my shows too! I love 'em!) are in my crosshairs.

If you really liked **Thunderstorms**, which a lot of you said you did, there will be a companion piece/sequel down the line. Just gotta hash it out in my brain.

Anyway, before I go, I again want to thank all of you who submitted a review, especially those who thought enough of me to review more than once and also send me private messages with words of encouragement and thanks. For all of you, I have a mini-story below that is a sort of mini-tribute to the reviewers, private messagers and those that inspired me. Enjoy.

**Raven and Fan Fiction**

**I Used To Look At Her** as a young woman that I had a major crush on. With her voluptuous curves, angelic face and stunning hazel eyes, she was like a **Dream Come True**. I would watch her show ready for **An Afternoon of Adventure** and laughter. I was having **A Summer of Dreams**. One day, as a surfed the Internet I came upon this website where people came to express themselves, using only the keyboard and their imagination. I was captivated by stories, humorous and tragic, romantic and dramatic that were **Full of Surprises**.

As I read story after story in category after category, I felt something inside begin to call on me. It was the **Dawning Flames** of a burning desire to share a story with all of you. My mind screamed out "**Follow Your Heart**" as the desire to become an author grew stronger. The characters of TSR, especially Raven and Chelsea, jumped out at me, begging for yet another voice. **The Weekend**came and went, and then one Monday, I decided to write. **From Unexpected Places** within my mind, the voices came, the words began to flow and **Thunderstorms** of creativity began to rumble in my mind. As I posted my first chapter I wondered, **Would You Care to Listen** to the ideas in my head? The reviews began to come in and you said **Don't Let It Be Over**, keep going, we're with you.

So I continued to write about the love Raven and Chelsea had for each other only they didn't know it yet. It was indeed a story of **Loss, Love and Friendship**. They worried, they danced, they argued, they apologized **And With A Kiss, The Walls Came Crashing Down**. They continued to worry, and dance, and argue, and kiss until all who cared about them knew that they were in love.

Their story is now told and it is time to **Say Goodbye**. And **I'm Ok** with that. You all are wondering like me, **Where Do We Go From Here**? Well, wherever it is it will be quite a journey. So let's all close our eyes. Think about Raven. **Memorize Her Smile**. **Be Strong**. Because there is **Much More Than This**. Don't give up on Triple L because this story is over. I guarantee that the next one will be **Worth Fighting For**.

**I love you all. I'll be back soon.**

**LaughLoveLive aka Triple L**


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